Chesapeake Customers to Face First Base Gas Rate Hike in 9 Years

Chesapeake residential home heating customers will see a rate increase of 6% and non-heating customers will see a rate increase of 6.5% as a result of a settlement of Chesapeake Utilities Corporation’s (Chesapeake) natural gas base rate case that the Delaware Public Service Commission (PSC) approved. This means the average residential home heating customer will see an increase of approximately $5.37 per month, and for an average residential non-heating customer, an increase of approximately $2.74 per month.  Chesapeake filed its rate case on August 12, 2024, initially seeking an increase in its revenue of $12.1 million, raising the requested increase to $12.8 million in later filings. Chesapeake’s rate case was its first request to increase base gas rates in nine years. Through the settlement, the amount of the overall rate increase was reduced from Chesapeake’s initial request of $12.1 million to a final settlement of $6.1 million, lowering the impact of the rate increase on Chesapeake customers.