Daily Balancing
It is the responsibility of utilities and gas transportation customers to nominate and balance gas use every day.
Nominating and Balancing
The amount of gas that flows in and out of a pipeline each day must be accounted for. When customers use more gas than nominated, it places unexpected demand on the Wisconsin Public Service system. When customers use less gas than nominated, WPS must place the excess gas in underground storage in Michigan. When gas use is higher or lower than nominated, customers are charged fees to cover the added costs related to imbalances.
The fee is a two-tier block rate, with the first-tier rate charged to any imbalance from 0% to 25% and the second-tier rate charged to any imbalance over 25%.
As a part of daily balancing, the Commission requires utilities to combine customer information about gas use to calculate imbalances. This "pooling factor" helps create a level playing field for all transportation customers.
In the past, only customers who bought gas from third-party marketers or who formed their own pools could offset daily balancing costs with other companies. Individual customers were clearly at a disadvantage. They needed to pay the full burden of any gas imbalances on a daily basis. The pooling factor allows customers to benefit from combined balancing to reduce monthly fees.
Our official gas transportation tariff provides more detail about monthly cashout.