City of Richmond Department of Public Utilities (Richmond Gas Works) Rate Selection Guide
Richmond Gas Works, the gas division of the City of Richmond Department of Public Utilities, delivers natural gas to roughly 72,000 customers across Richmond and parts of Henrico and Chesterfield Counties. Data access is currently limited to the MyHQ billing portal (PDF bills, up to 36 months of history, monthly usage only), with no Green Button, EDI, or third-party API support today though an Oracle Energy and Water CIS migration is expected to add REST API capabilities.
City of Richmond Department of Public Utilities (Richmond Gas Works) Rate Schedule Comparison
| Schedule | Type | Rate | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small & Medium General Service | Commercial | $20.17/mo + $0.634/Ccf distribution + PGC | Most commercial/office/retail gas accounts under 10,000 Ccf/month |
| Large Volume Gas Service | Industrial | $2.41/Ccf WACCOG service charge + components | High-volume manufacturing/institutional users (10,000+ Ccf/month) |
| Purchased Gas Cost (PGC) | Pass-through | ~$0.54/Ccf (varies monthly) | Applies to all classes; commodity passed through at cost |
Market Overview
Richmond Gas Works is a city-owned natural gas LDC. Rates are set annually by Richmond City Council (not the Virginia SCC) and take effect July 1. There is no competitive gas supplier choice for DPU customers; the city provides both distribution and the gas commodity (passed through at cost via PGC).
Need to pull your actual usage data to compare rates? See the City of Richmond Department of Public Utilities (Richmond Gas Works) Data Access Guide →
Current Rate Schedules
Natural gas rates effective July 1, 2025, set by Richmond City Council. Bills combine a fixed monthly service charge, a volumetric distribution charge per Ccf, the monthly Purchased Gas Cost (PGC, passed through at cost ~$0.54/Ccf), and applicable utility taxes. Figures below are the verified per-class charges published by DPU.
Effective: July 1, 2025 · Full Tariff Book →
| Schedule | Type | Applicability | Structure | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small & Medium General Service (Commercial) | commercial | Small and medium commercial customers below the large-volume threshold | $20.17/month service charge + $0.634/Ccf volumetric distribution + PGC (passed through) + utility taxes | — |
| Large Volume Gas Service | industrial | High-volume commercial/industrial customers using 10,000+ Ccf per month | WACCOG (weighted average cost of gas) service charge of $2.41/Ccf + distribution/service components + utility taxes; contact DPU for full large-volume tariff terms | — |
| Purchased Gas Cost (PGC) Adjustment | commercial | All gas customer classes (commodity pass-through) | Monthly commodity adjustment passed through dollar-for-dollar with no markup (~$0.54/Ccf as referenced for 2025); adjusted periodically with market gas prices | — |
Rate Recommendations by Use Case
Commercial customer needing ongoing data for an energy/sustainability program
With no API or Green Button, build a repeatable process around MyHQ PDF exports.
MyHQ provides up to 36 months of bills with monthly Ccf usage the only reliable data source today.
- Download all linked accounts monthly and archive PDFs
- Track Ccf and PGC separately to isolate commodity vs. distribution
- Set a reminder for the July 1 annual rate update
High-volume industrial gas user (10,000+ Ccf/month)
Confirm large-volume rate eligibility and model the WACCOG-based structure.
Large-volume customers are billed on a $2.41/Ccf WACCOG service charge structure that differs from General Service get the full tariff terms from DPU.
- Request the complete large-volume tariff from DPU (804-646-4646)
- Compare effective $/Ccf against General Service at your volume
- Monitor monthly PGC adjustments for budget forecasting
Third-party consultant/aggregator onboarding a Richmond Gas Works account
Plan for customer-mediated access; do not assume API availability.
There is no Share My Data portal, EDI, or public API; access is via customer-shared PDFs or DPU authorization.
- Have the customer download and share 24-36 months of MyHQ PDFs
- Use a customer authorization letter on file with DPU for account discussions
- Track the Oracle CIS rollout for potential future API access
Multi-site organization on a consolidated DPU bill
Link all service locations in MyHQ and consider consolidated billing.
DPU bills gas, water, wastewater, and stormwater together; linking accounts simplifies portfolio tracking.
- Link every account under one MyHQ login
- Ask DPU about consolidated billing for multiple locations
- Separate gas-only line items when benchmarking energy spend
Historical Rate Trends
DPU gas rates are reset annually effective July 1 by Richmond City Council. Recent years have seen steady increases for fixed distribution/customer charges, reported as rising faster than inflation, alongside separate monthly PGC commodity adjustments.
July 1, 2025
July 1, 2025 rate adjustment; average residential fixed/distribution charges up ~$3.31/month; convenience fees for card/ACH eliminated June 30, 2025.
+3-5%July 1, 2024
July 1, 2024 annual rate adjustment for gas and other DPU services.
+3-5%Overall trend: Increasing roughly 3-5% annually on distribution/service charges in recent years; PGC fluctuates monthly with market gas prices.
Next expected change: Next annual rate adjustment expected effective July 1, 2026 (set by City Council).
Cost Optimization Strategies
For C&I gas accounts, savings come from reducing consumption and confirming correct rate-class assignment, since the commodity is passed through at cost and there are no demand charges.
Verify rate-class assignment
For: All commercial/industrial gas accounts
Confirm whether your facility is better served on small/medium General Service vs. large-volume gas (10,000+ Ccf/month with the $2.41/Ccf WACCOG service charge). Misclassification can materially affect cost.
Reduce volumetric consumption
For: Space- and process-heating intensive facilities
Because distribution and commodity charges are both per-Ccf, efficiency measures (high-efficiency boilers/heaters, controls, weatherization) directly cut the largest cost component.
Benchmark with 36 months of MyHQ bills
For: All C&I customers
Export up to 36 months of PDF bills from MyHQ to baseline seasonal usage, detect anomalies, and target high-consumption periods.
To implement these strategies, you need your 15-minute interval data. Learn how to download City of Richmond Department of Public Utilities (Richmond Gas Works) interval data →
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a C&I customer get interval (hourly or sub-hourly) gas data from Richmond Gas Works?▾
No. Richmond Gas Works uses monthly AMR drive-by meter reads, so only one consumption value per billing period is captured. There is no smart-meter/AMI interval program and no Green Button. For granular monitoring, a customer would need to install their own sub-meters. A future Oracle CIS may expand capabilities, but no interval offering has been announced.
How does a third-party energy manager access a commercial customer's gas data?▾
There is no formal third-party authorization portal or API. The practical path is customer-mediated: the customer downloads up to 36 months of PDF bills from MyHQ and shares them, or authorizes DPU (804-646-4646 / dpucustserv@rva.gov) to discuss the account. For bulk/aggregate needs, a formal data or FOIA request can be submitted.
Is there an API for pulling Richmond Gas Works billing data?▾
Not currently. The billing platform is KUBRA MyHQ+, which has no public customer-data API. DPU is migrating to Oracle Energy and Water Cloud CIS (through ~2026), which is expected to add REST APIs (account/usage/billing), but no official spec or third-party access workflow has been published yet.
How are commercial gas rates structured, and how much history can I analyze?▾
Commercial rates have a fixed monthly service charge plus a volumetric distribution charge per Ccf, with the gas commodity passed through at cost via the monthly Purchased Gas Cost (PGC). Small/medium commercial (General Service) is $20.17/month plus $0.634/Ccf distribution; large-volume customers (10,000+ Ccf/month) use a WACCOG service charge of $2.41/Ccf (effective July 1, 2025). MyHQ provides up to 36 months of bills for benchmarking.
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