Securities
and Exchange Commission
Washington,
D.C. 20549
_______________________________
FORM
8-K
CURRENT
REPORT
Pursuant
to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date
of
Report (Date of earliest event reported): July 6, 2007
Chesapeake
Utilities Corporation
(Exact
name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware
|
001-11590
|
51-0064146
|
(State
or other jurisdiction of
|
(Commission
|
|
incorporation
or organization)
|
File
Number)
|
|
909
Silver Lake Boulevard, Dover, Delaware 19904
(Address
of principal executive offices, including Zip Code)
(302)
734-6799
(Registrant's
Telephone Number, including Area Code)
_______________________________________________________________
(Former
name, former address and former fiscal year, if changed since last
report.)
Check
the
appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously
satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following
provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):
[
]
Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17
CFR
230.425)
[
]
Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17
CFR
240.14a-12)
[
]
Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange
Act
(17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
[
]
Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange
Act
(17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))
Item
8.01. Other Events
Chesapeake
Utilities Corporation (the “Company”) announced today that the Company submitted
a filing with the Delaware Public Service Commission (“PSC”) on July 6, 2007,
seeking approval of the following:
(a) |
Participation
by the Company’s Delaware commercial and industrial customers in
transportation buying pools served by third party natural gas
marketers;
|
(b) |
A
base rate adjustment that would generate an additional $1,896,000
of
revenue on an annualized basis, and that would represent approximately
a
3.25 percent increase on average for the Company’s firm customers in
Delaware;
|
(c) |
An
alternative rate design for residential customers in a defined
expansion
area in eastern Sussex County, Delaware;
and
|
(d) |
A
revenue normalization mechanism that reduces the impact of changes
in gas
consumption on both our customers and the
Company.
|
As
an
incentive for the Company to make the significant capital investments to
serve
the growing areas of eastern Sussex County and in supporting Delaware’s Energy
Policy, the Company has proposed as part of the filing that the Company
be
permitted to earn a return on equity up to 15 percent. This level of return
ensures that the Company’s investors are adequately compensated for the
increased risk associated with the capital investment necessary to provide
natural gas in those growing areas.
On
July
11, 2007, the Company issued a press release highlighting the details of
the
filing before the Delaware PSC. A copy of the press release is attached
as
Exhibit 99.1 hereto and is incorporated by reference herein.
Item
9.01. Exhibits.
Exhibit
|
Description
|
99.1
|
Press
Release of Chesapeake Utilities Corporation, dated July 11,
2007.
|
SIGNATURE
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant
has
duly caused this Report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto
duly authorized.
Chesapeake
Utilities Corporation
/s/
Michael
P. McMasters
—————————————
Michael
P. McMasters
Senior
Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Date:
July 11, 2007