the increase in depreciation and amortization expense resulted from additional assets placed in-service , including those associated with the nwv gathering and jupiter expansion projects . 49 year ended december 31 , 2015 compared to year ended december 31 , 2014 gathering revenues increased by $ 101.2 million primarily as a result of higher affiliate volumes gathered driven by production development in the marcellus shale . eqm significantly increased firm reservation fee revenues in 2015 compared to 2014 as a result of increased capacity under firm contracts with affiliates . the decrease in usage fees was primarily due to affiliates contracting for additional firm capacity . operating expenses increased by $ 5.3 million for the year ended december 31 , 2015 compared to the year ended december 31 , 2014 . operating and maintenance expense increased as a result of higher allocations , including personnel costs , from eqt of $ 2.7 million and higher repairs and maintenance expenses associated with increased throughput . transmission results of operations replace_table_token_6_th ( a ) includes commodity charges and fees on volumes transported in excess of firm contracted capacity . ( b ) includes volumes transported under interruptible contracts and volumes transported in excess of firm contracted capacity . year ended december 31 , 2016 compared to year ended december 31 , 2015 transmission and storage revenues increased by $ 40.3 million . firm reservation fee revenues increased due to affiliates contracting for additional capacity under firm contracts , primarily on the ovc , as well as higher contractual rates on existing contracts in the current year . higher usage fees under firm contracts were driven by an increase in affiliate volumes in excess of firm capacity associated with increased production development in the marcellus shale , partly offset by lower usage 50 fees from third party producers which is reflected in reduced firm capacity reservation throughput for the year ended december 31 , 2016 compared to the year ended december 31 , 2015. these volumes also decreased as a result of warmer weather in the first quarter of 2016. this decrease in transported volumes did not have a significant impact on firm reservation fee revenues . usage fees under interruptible contracts for the year ended december 31 , 2016 increased as a result of higher third party volumes transported or stored on an interruptible basis . operating expenses increased by $ 10.1 million for the year ended december 31 , 2016 compared to the year ended december 31 , 2015 . the increase in operating and maintenance expense resulted primarily from higher repairs and maintenance expenses associated with increased throughput . selling , general and administrative expenses increased primarily as a result of higher allocations and personnel costs from eqt . the increase in depreciation and amortization expense was primarily a result of higher depreciation on the increased investment in transmission infrastructure , including those associated with the ovc and the avc facilities . year ended december 31 , 2015 compared to year ended december 31 , 2014 transmission and storage revenues increased by $ 42.6 million reflecting production development in the marcellus shale by affiliate and third party producers . the increase primarily resulted from higher firm reservation fee revenues of $ 45.1 million partly offset by lower usage fees under interruptible contracts . the decrease in usage fees was primarily due to customers contracting for additional firm capacity . operating expenses increased $ 19.9 million for the year ended december 31 , 2015 compared to the year ended december 31 , 2014 . the increase in operating and maintenance expense resulted from higher repairs and maintenance expenses of $ 4.3 million associated with increased throughput , higher property taxes of $ 2.3 million and higher allocations , including personnel costs , from eqt . selling , general and administrative expense increased primarily as a result of higher allocations and personnel costs from eqt . other income statement items in conjunction with the october 2016 acquisition discussed in note 2 to the consolidated financial statements the operating agreement of ees was amended to provide for mandatory redemption of the preferred interest at the end of the preference period , which is expected to be december 31 , 2034. as a result of this amendment , the accounting for eqm 's investment in ees converted from a cost method investment to a note receivable effective october 1 , 2016. this conversion did not impact the carrying value of this instrument ; however , distributions from ees subsequent to the amendment will be recorded partly as interest income and partly as a reduction in the note receivable . this change will decrease the amount of other income recognized in future periods and increase interest income . it will have no impact on expected cash flows during the preference period . on the statements of consolidated operations for the year ended december 31 , 2016 , other income included $ 8.3 million and net interest expense included interest income of $ 1.7 million related to the preferred interest . for the year ending december 31 , 2017 , interest income of $ 6.8 million related to the preferred interest is expected to reduce net interest expense on the statements of consolidated operations . other income increased by $ 29.2 million for the year ended december 31 , 2016 compared to the year ended december 31 , 2015 primarily driven by increased afudc - equity of $ 13.1 million mainly attributable to increased spending on the ovc project , distributions received from ees of $ 8.3 million prior to the conversion to a note receivable for accounting purposes and higher equity income related to eqm 's portion of the mvp joint venture 's afudc on the mvp . story_separator_special_tag unless eqm is successful in attracting and retaining unaffiliated third party customers , which accounted for 49 % of transmission and storage revenues and 4 % of gathering revenues for the year ended december 31 , 2016 , its ability to maintain or increase the capacity subscribed and volumes transported under service arrangements on its transmission and storage system as well as the volumes gathered on its gathering systems will be dependent on receiving consistent or increasing commitments from eqt . while eqt has dedicated acreage to eqm , and has entered into long-term firm transmission and gathering contracts on eqm 's systems , eqt may determine in the future that drilling in areas outside of eqm 's current areas of operations is strategically more attractive to it , and it is under no contractual obligation to continue to develop its acreage dedicated to eqm . eqm believes the high percentage of its revenues derived from reservation charges under long-term , firm contracts will mitigate the risk of revenue fluctuations due to changes in near-term supply and demand conditions and commodity prices . for more information see “ risks inherent in our business - any significant decrease in production of natural gas in our areas of operation could adversely affect our business and operating results and reduce our cash available to make distributions `` included in item 1a , `` risk factors . `` capital resources and liquidity eqm 's principal liquidity requirements are to finance its operations , fund capital expenditures , capital contributions to the mvp joint venture and potential acquisitions , make cash distributions and satisfy any indebtedness obligations . eqm 's ability to meet these liquidity requirements will depend on its ability to generate cash in the future as well as its ability to raise capital in banking , capital and other markets . eqm 's available sources of liquidity include cash generated from operations , borrowing under eqm 's credit facilities , cash on hand , debt offerings and issuances of additional eqm partnership units . operating activities net cash provided by operating activities was $ 537.9 million for 2016 as compared to $ 489.7 million for 2015 . the increase was driven by higher operating income , the contributing factors for which are discussed in the “ executive overview ” and `` business segment results of operations `` sections herein , distributions received from ees of approximately $ 11 million and lower net interest expense as discussed in the `` other income statement items `` section herein , partly offset by the timing of payments between the two periods . net cash provided by operating activities was $ 489.7 million for 2015 as compared to $ 324.8 million for 2014 . the increase was driven by higher operating income , the contributing factors for which are discussed in the “ executive overview ” and `` business segment results of operations `` sections herein and the timing of payments between the two periods , partly offset by increased interest on the 2014 debt offering . investing activities story_separator_special_tag style= `` font-family : times new roman ; font-size:10pt ; margin-left : auto ; margin-right : auto ; width:99.90243902439025 % ; border-collapse : collapse ; text-align : left ; `` > rating service senior notes outlook moody 's investors service ( moody 's ) ba1 stable standard & poor 's ratings services ( s & p ) bbb- stable fitch ratings ( fitch ) bbb- stable eqm 's credit ratings are subject to revision or withdrawal at any time by the assigning rating organization and each rating should be evaluated independently of any other rating . eqm can not ensure that a rating will remain in effect for any given period of time or that a rating will not be lowered or withdrawn entirely by a credit rating agency if , in its judgment , circumstances so warrant . if any credit rating agency downgrades eqm 's ratings , eqm 's access to the capital markets may be limited , borrowing costs could increase , eqm may be required to provide additional credit assurances in support of commercial agreements such as joint venture agreements and construction contracts , the amount of which may be substantial , and the potential pool of investors and funding sources may decrease . in order to be considered investment grade , a company must be 58 rated baa3 or higher by moody 's , bbb- or higher by s & p , or bbb- or higher by fitch . anything below these ratings , including eqm 's current credit rating of ba1 by moody 's , is considered non-investment grade . $ 750 million atm program as of february 9 , 2017 , eqm had approximately $ 443 million in remaining capacity under the $ 750 million atm program . distributions on january 19 , 2017 , the board of directors of the eqm general partner declared a cash distribution to eqm 's unitholders for the fourth quarter of 2016 of $ 0.85 per common unit . the cash distribution will be paid on february 14 , 2017 to unitholders of record at the close of business on february 3 , 2017 . cash distributions to eqgp will be approximately $ 18.5 million related to its limited partner interest , $ 1.8 million related to its general partner interest and $ 27.6 million related to its idrs . schedule of contractual obligations the following represents eqm 's contractual obligations as of december 31 , 2016 . purchase obligations exclude eqm 's future capital contributions to the mvp joint venture and purchase obligations of the mvp joint venture . replace_table_token_9_th commitments and contingencies in the ordinary course of business , various legal and regulatory claims and proceedings are pending or threatened against eqm . while the amounts claimed may be substantial , eqm is unable to predict with certainty the ultimate outcome of such claims and proceedings . eqm accrues legal and other

net cash used in investing activities totaled $ 732.0 million for 2016 as compared to $ 1,043.8 million for 2015 . the decrease was primarily attributable to lower net assets acquired from eqt in 2016 as compared to 2015. in 2015 , eqm acquired $ 386.8 million of net assets in the nwv gathering acquisition as well as the $ 124.3 million preferred interest from eqt compared to $ 62.4 million of net assets in the october 2016 acquisition . this decrease was partly offset by increased capital expenditures as further described in `` capital requirements . '' net cash used in investing activities totaled $ 1,043.8 million for 2015 as compared to $ 524.4 million for 2014 . the increase was primarily attributable to higher net assets acquired from eqt in 2015 as compared to 2014. in 2015 , eqm acquired $ 386.8 million of net assets in the nwv gathering acquisition as well as the $ 124.3 million preferred interest from eqt compared to $ 168.2 million of net assets in the jupiter acquisition in 2014. additionally , capital expenditures increased in 2015 as compared to 2014 , and eqm acquired eqt 's interest in the mvp joint venture and made subsequent capital contributions to the mvp joint venture in 2015. see discussion of capital expenditures in the `` capital requirements '' section herein . 56 financing activities net cash used in financing activities totaled $ 106.5 million for 2016 as compared to net cash provided by financing activities of $ 779.5 million for 2015 . the primary financing uses of cash for 2016 were distributions paid to unitholders , repayments of credit facility borrowings and the october 2016 acquisition . the primary financing sources of cash for 2016 were cash received from debt and equity offerings . financing cash inflows for 2015 were from equity offerings and net credit facility borrowings ; the primary uses of financing cash flows in 2015 were the nwv gathering acquisition in excess of net assets acquired and distributions paid to unitholders .


 Write a concise suspicious activity report of the following text delimited by triple backquotes. Return your response as a formal report which covers the key points highlighting the location,dates,entity names and account holder information in chronological order of the text.
     ```net cash used in investing activities totaled $ 732.0 million for 2016 as compared to $ 1,043.8 million for 2015 . the decrease was primarily attributable to lower net assets acquired from eqt in 2016 as compared to 2015. in 2015 , eqm acquired $ 386.8 million of net assets in the nwv gathering acquisition as well as the $ 124.3 million preferred interest from eqt compared to $ 62.4 million of net assets in the october 2016 acquisition . this decrease was partly offset by increased capital expenditures as further described in `` capital requirements . '' net cash used in investing activities totaled $ 1,043.8 million for 2015 as compared to $ 524.4 million for 2014 . the increase was primarily attributable to higher net assets acquired from eqt in 2015 as compared to 2014. in 2015 , eqm acquired $ 386.8 million of net assets in the nwv gathering acquisition as well as the $ 124.3 million preferred interest from eqt compared to $ 168.2 million of net assets in the jupiter acquisition in 2014. additionally , capital expenditures increased in 2015 as compared to 2014 , and eqm acquired eqt 's interest in the mvp joint venture and made subsequent capital contributions to the mvp joint venture in 2015. see discussion of capital expenditures in the `` capital requirements '' section herein . 56 financing activities net cash used in financing activities totaled $ 106.5 million for 2016 as compared to net cash provided by financing activities of $ 779.5 million for 2015 . the primary financing uses of cash for 2016 were distributions paid to unitholders , repayments of credit facility borrowings and the october 2016 acquisition . the primary financing sources of cash for 2016 were cash received from debt and equity offerings . financing cash inflows for 2015 were from equity offerings and net credit facility borrowings ; the primary uses of financing cash flows in 2015 were the nwv gathering acquisition in excess of net assets acquired and distributions paid to unitholders .
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 Suspicious Activity Report : the increase in depreciation and amortization expense resulted from additional assets placed in-service , including those associated with the nwv gathering and jupiter expansion projects . 49 year ended december 31 , 2015 compared to year ended december 31 , 2014 gathering revenues increased by $ 101.2 million primarily as a result of higher affiliate volumes gathered driven by production development in the marcellus shale . eqm significantly increased firm reservation fee revenues in 2015 compared to 2014 as a result of increased capacity under firm contracts with affiliates . the decrease in usage fees was primarily due to affiliates contracting for additional firm capacity . operating expenses increased by $ 5.3 million for the year ended december 31 , 2015 compared to the year ended december 31 , 2014 . operating and maintenance expense increased as a result of higher allocations , including personnel costs , from eqt of $ 2.7 million and higher repairs and maintenance expenses associated with increased throughput . transmission results of operations replace_table_token_6_th ( a ) includes commodity charges and fees on volumes transported in excess of firm contracted capacity . ( b ) includes volumes transported under interruptible contracts and volumes transported in excess of firm contracted capacity . year ended december 31 , 2016 compared to year ended december 31 , 2015 transmission and storage revenues increased by $ 40.3 million . firm reservation fee revenues increased due to affiliates contracting for additional capacity under firm contracts , primarily on the ovc , as well as higher contractual rates on existing contracts in the current year . higher usage fees under firm contracts were driven by an increase in affiliate volumes in excess of firm capacity associated with increased production development in the marcellus shale , partly offset by lower usage 50 fees from third party producers which is reflected in reduced firm capacity reservation throughput for the year ended december 31 , 2016 compared to the year ended december 31 , 2015. these volumes also decreased as a result of warmer weather in the first quarter of 2016. this decrease in transported volumes did not have a significant impact on firm reservation fee revenues . usage fees under interruptible contracts for the year ended december 31 , 2016 increased as a result of higher third party volumes transported or stored on an interruptible basis . operating expenses increased by $ 10.1 million for the year ended december 31 , 2016 compared to the year ended december 31 , 2015 . the increase in operating and maintenance expense resulted primarily from higher repairs and maintenance expenses associated with increased throughput . selling , general and administrative expenses increased primarily as a result of higher allocations and personnel costs from eqt . the increase in depreciation and amortization expense was primarily a result of higher depreciation on the increased investment in transmission infrastructure , including those associated with the ovc and the avc facilities . year ended december 31 , 2015 compared to year ended december 31 , 2014 transmission and storage revenues increased by $ 42.6 million reflecting production development in the marcellus shale by affiliate and third party producers . the increase primarily resulted from higher firm reservation fee revenues of $ 45.1 million partly offset by lower usage fees under interruptible contracts . the decrease in usage fees was primarily due to customers contracting for additional firm capacity . operating expenses increased $ 19.9 million for the year ended december 31 , 2015 compared to the year ended december 31 , 2014 . the increase in operating and maintenance expense resulted from higher repairs and maintenance expenses of $ 4.3 million associated with increased throughput , higher property taxes of $ 2.3 million and higher allocations , including personnel costs , from eqt . selling , general and administrative expense increased primarily as a result of higher allocations and personnel costs from eqt . other income statement items in conjunction with the october 2016 acquisition discussed in note 2 to the consolidated financial statements the operating agreement of ees was amended to provide for mandatory redemption of the preferred interest at the end of the preference period , which is expected to be december 31 , 2034. as a result of this amendment , the accounting for eqm 's investment in ees converted from a cost method investment to a note receivable effective october 1 , 2016. this conversion did not impact the carrying value of this instrument ; however , distributions from ees subsequent to the amendment will be recorded partly as interest income and partly as a reduction in the note receivable . this change will decrease the amount of other income recognized in future periods and increase interest income . it will have no impact on expected cash flows during the preference period . on the statements of consolidated operations for the year ended december 31 , 2016 , other income included $ 8.3 million and net interest expense included interest income of $ 1.7 million related to the preferred interest . for the year ending december 31 , 2017 , interest income of $ 6.8 million related to the preferred interest is expected to reduce net interest expense on the statements of consolidated operations . other income increased by $ 29.2 million for the year ended december 31 , 2016 compared to the year ended december 31 , 2015 primarily driven by increased afudc - equity of $ 13.1 million mainly attributable to increased spending on the ovc project , distributions received from ees of $ 8.3 million prior to the conversion to a note receivable for accounting purposes and higher equity income related to eqm 's portion of the mvp joint venture 's afudc on the mvp . story_separator_special_tag unless eqm is successful in attracting and retaining unaffiliated third party customers , which accounted for 49 % of transmission and storage revenues and 4 % of gathering revenues for the year ended december 31 , 2016 , its ability to maintain or increase the capacity subscribed and volumes transported under service arrangements on its transmission and storage system as well as the volumes gathered on its gathering systems will be dependent on receiving consistent or increasing commitments from eqt . while eqt has dedicated acreage to eqm , and has entered into long-term firm transmission and gathering contracts on eqm 's systems , eqt may determine in the future that drilling in areas outside of eqm 's current areas of operations is strategically more attractive to it , and it is under no contractual obligation to continue to develop its acreage dedicated to eqm . eqm believes the high percentage of its revenues derived from reservation charges under long-term , firm contracts will mitigate the risk of revenue fluctuations due to changes in near-term supply and demand conditions and commodity prices . for more information see “ risks inherent in our business - any significant decrease in production of natural gas in our areas of operation could adversely affect our business and operating results and reduce our cash available to make distributions `` included in item 1a , `` risk factors . `` capital resources and liquidity eqm 's principal liquidity requirements are to finance its operations , fund capital expenditures , capital contributions to the mvp joint venture and potential acquisitions , make cash distributions and satisfy any indebtedness obligations . eqm 's ability to meet these liquidity requirements will depend on its ability to generate cash in the future as well as its ability to raise capital in banking , capital and other markets . eqm 's available sources of liquidity include cash generated from operations , borrowing under eqm 's credit facilities , cash on hand , debt offerings and issuances of additional eqm partnership units . operating activities net cash provided by operating activities was $ 537.9 million for 2016 as compared to $ 489.7 million for 2015 . the increase was driven by higher operating income , the contributing factors for which are discussed in the “ executive overview ” and `` business segment results of operations `` sections herein , distributions received from ees of approximately $ 11 million and lower net interest expense as discussed in the `` other income statement items `` section herein , partly offset by the timing of payments between the two periods . net cash provided by operating activities was $ 489.7 million for 2015 as compared to $ 324.8 million for 2014 . the increase was driven by higher operating income , the contributing factors for which are discussed in the “ executive overview ” and `` business segment results of operations `` sections herein and the timing of payments between the two periods , partly offset by increased interest on the 2014 debt offering . investing activities story_separator_special_tag style= `` font-family : times new roman ; font-size:10pt ; margin-left : auto ; margin-right : auto ; width:99.90243902439025 % ; border-collapse : collapse ; text-align : left ; `` > rating service senior notes outlook moody 's investors service ( moody 's ) ba1 stable standard & poor 's ratings services ( s & p ) bbb- stable fitch ratings ( fitch ) bbb- stable eqm 's credit ratings are subject to revision or withdrawal at any time by the assigning rating organization and each rating should be evaluated independently of any other rating . eqm can not ensure that a rating will remain in effect for any given period of time or that a rating will not be lowered or withdrawn entirely by a credit rating agency if , in its judgment , circumstances so warrant . if any credit rating agency downgrades eqm 's ratings , eqm 's access to the capital markets may be limited , borrowing costs could increase , eqm may be required to provide additional credit assurances in support of commercial agreements such as joint venture agreements and construction contracts , the amount of which may be substantial , and the potential pool of investors and funding sources may decrease . in order to be considered investment grade , a company must be 58 rated baa3 or higher by moody 's , bbb- or higher by s & p , or bbb- or higher by fitch . anything below these ratings , including eqm 's current credit rating of ba1 by moody 's , is considered non-investment grade . $ 750 million atm program as of february 9 , 2017 , eqm had approximately $ 443 million in remaining capacity under the $ 750 million atm program . distributions on january 19 , 2017 , the board of directors of the eqm general partner declared a cash distribution to eqm 's unitholders for the fourth quarter of 2016 of $ 0.85 per common unit . the cash distribution will be paid on february 14 , 2017 to unitholders of record at the close of business on february 3 , 2017 . cash distributions to eqgp will be approximately $ 18.5 million related to its limited partner interest , $ 1.8 million related to its general partner interest and $ 27.6 million related to its idrs . schedule of contractual obligations the following represents eqm 's contractual obligations as of december 31 , 2016 . purchase obligations exclude eqm 's future capital contributions to the mvp joint venture and purchase obligations of the mvp joint venture . replace_table_token_9_th commitments and contingencies in the ordinary course of business , various legal and regulatory claims and proceedings are pending or threatened against eqm . while the amounts claimed may be substantial , eqm is unable to predict with certainty the ultimate outcome of such claims and proceedings . eqm accrues legal and other

