of Pike’s Petition, pending review of, and consideration on, the merits of the Petition and any responses thereto. As such, the instant Order addresses the merits of Pike’s Petition, as well as the Answer of the Pennsylvania Office of Consumer Advocate (OCA) filed on June 11, 2018, in response to the Petition. In its Petition, Pike requests that the Commission reconsider and amend its May 17, 2018 Orders to exempt Pike from decreasing its distribution rates. Petition at 1. By way of background, the Commission issued several Orders on May 17, 2018. These Orders were issued in response to Public Law No. 115-97 which was signed into law by the President in December of last year. The short title of this law is the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). Pursuant to the TCJA, effective January 1, 2018, various provisions of the Tax Reform Act of 1986 (the governing tax law in the United States prior to the effective date of the TCJA) have been repealed or amended. One of the many modifications to the Tax Reform Act of 1986 resulting from the passage of the TCJA is a reduction in the corporate Federal Income Tax rate. Specifically, the TCJA reduces the corporate Federal Income Tax rate from 35% to 21%. Therefore, at the start of this year, the Commission undertook the task of determining the effects of the TCJA on the tax liabilities of Commission-regulated public utilities for 2018 and future years and the feasibility of reflecting such impacts in the rates charged to Pennsylvania utility ratepayers. As such, the Commission issued Temporary Rates Orders on March 15, 2018, and May 17, 2018, while also issuing utility-specific Orders on May 17, 2018. These Orders address the manner in which utilities’ reduced tax obligations as a result of the TCJA will be addressed in rates charged to Pennsylvania’s utility customers. For Pike’s utility-specific Order issued on May 17, 2018, the Commission determined that the Company’s rates are producing a “existing return in excess of a fair return upon the fair value of the Respondent’s used and useful utility property, and that it is in the public interest to prescribe temporary rates under 66 Pa. C.S. § 1310(d) to reduce Respondent’s current gross annual intrastate operating
of Pike’s Petition, pending review of, and consideration on, the merits of the Petition and any responses thereto. As such, the instant Order addresses the merits of Pike’s Petition, as well as the Answer of the Pennsylvania Office of Consumer Advocate (OCA) filed on June 11, 2018, in response to the Petition. In its Petition, Pike requests that the Commission reconsider and amend its May 17, 2018 Orders to exempt Pike from decreasing its distribution rates. Petition at 1. By way of background, the Commission issued several Orders on May 17, 2018. These Orders were issued in response to Public Law No. 115-97 which was signed into law by the President in December of last year. The short title of this law is the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). Pursuant to the TCJA, effective January 1, 2018, various provisions of the Tax Reform Act of 1986 (the governing tax law in the United States prior to the effective date of the TCJA) have been repealed or amended. One of the many modifications to the Tax Reform Act of 1986 resulting from the passage of the TCJA is a reduction in the corporate Federal Income Tax rate. Specifically, the TCJA reduces the corporate Federal Income Tax rate from 35% to 21%. Therefore, at the start of this year, the Commission undertook the task of determining the effects of the TCJA on the tax liabilities of Commission-regulated public utilities for 2018 and future years and the feasibility of reflecting such impacts in the rates charged to Pennsylvania utility ratepayers. As such, the Commission issued Temporary Rates Orders on March 15, 2018, and May 17, 2018, while also issuing utility-specific Orders on May 17, 2018. These Orders address the manner in which utilities’ reduced tax obligations as a result of the TCJA will be addressed in rates charged to Pennsylvania’s utility customers. For Pike’s utility-specific Order issued on May 17, 2018, the Commission determined that the Company’s “existing rates are producing a return in excess of a fair return upon the fair value of the Respondent’s used and useful utility property, and that it is in the public interest to prescribe temporary rates under 66 Pa. C.S. § 1310(d) to reduce Respondent’s current gross annual intrastate operating
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