"Questar nevertheless sat on its hands until 1997 and brought the matter to the attention of regulators for the first time in January 1998," Jenson said in a recent filing. After the processing plant was completed, Questar passed $25 million in costs on to customers from 1999 to 2004.

However, in 2003, the Utah Supreme Court ruled that the PSC had "erred" in passing the costs on to customers "by failing to hold Questar Gas to its burden of showing that the increase was just and reasonable."

That decision ultimately resulted in the PSC ordering a $29 million refund to customers — which included $4 million in accumulated interest — amounting to about $37 for the typical customer.

The new agreement, which Ball and Geddes oppose, allows Questar to capture ongoing costs associated with the processing plant after Jan. 31, 2005, until 2008, a target year in which Questar Gas hopes enough of its Utah customers will have their furnaces adjusted to burn new composition gas supplies so the plant can be shut down.

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E-mail: danderton@desnews.com