In late June, the Pennsylvania PUC (Public Utility Commission) released detailed data on impact fee revenue generated in 2018. The past year marked the largest distribution to date, close to $242.9 million. Additionally, $8.8 million is being distributed to areas where producer impact fees had been withheld due to ongoing litigation. The total for 2018 – close to $252 million – is over $42 million more than the prior year. In total, close to $1.7 billion has been distributed to communities across Pennsylvania over the past eight years.
The increase from 2017 was primarily driven by an increase in the number of wells in Pennsylvania paying the impact fee (from 8,518 to 9,560). Year over year, the price of natural gas remained relatively consistent and did not impact the well fee calculations. In 2018, Range Resources, EQT and Cabot made the largest producer payments, totaling more than $77 million.
Washington, Susquehanna and Bradford received the top benefits across all Pennsylvania counties in 2018. Center, Morris and Amwell townships were the top receiving municipalities during the year. Additional details can be found on the PUC’s Act 13 website.
