West Virginia’s second-largest gas utility is getting larger.
Hope Gas has agreed to purchase Peoples Gas WV, a gas utility serving 13,000 customers in 15 counties across North Central West Virginia.
The purchase price is $37 million, a company spokesman said in an email. The planned acquisition is subject to West Virginia Public Service Commission approval and is expected to close by the middle of 2023.
Headquartered in Morgantown, Hope Gas provides service to around 112,000 residential, industrial and commercial customers in 35 West Virginia counties.
Hope Gas is a subsidiary of Hearthstone Holdings, a holding company that owns regulated natural gas and water distribution utilities in West Virginia and seven other states. Hearthstone finalized the acquisition of Hope Gas from Dominion Energy in September.
Hearthstone Utilities spokeswoman Erin O’Donnell pledged in an email the acquisition would result in no layoffs and no impact on utility rates paid by customers.
“We are excited to grow our business and continue to invest in building the future of West Virginia, its communities, and the people we serve,” Morgan O’Brien, CEO of Hope Gas, said in a news release late Tuesday afternoon.
Hope Gas said in the news release it employs roughly 350 employees working in West Virginia.
Hope Gas reported a net utility operating income of $36.6 million for 2021 in an annual report to the Public Service Commission. The commission approved an interim purchased gas cost rate increase for the company in November increasing the average monthly residential bill by 28%. The rate that the agency granted to Hope Gas resulted in a monthly winter bill of $173.89 for 13,000 cubic feet of gas.
West Virginia’s largest gas utility is Mountaineer Gas, which serves approximately 220,000 customers in 50 of West Virginia’s 55 counties.
Mike Tony covers energy for HD Media. He can be reached at 304-348-1236 or mtony@hdmediallc.com. Follow @Mike__Tony on Twitter.
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