Southwest Gas to raise rates 8% starting Jan. 1

By Bruce Whetten

Douglas Dispatch
Published/Last Modified on Wednesday, December 21, 2011 3:29 PM MST


Southwest Gas customers can expect to see an increase in their gas bills starting Jan. 1, 2012.


The Arizona Corporation Commission agreed last week to allow the increase and also a mechanism called “decoupling” that will allow the company to recover revenue lost from improved energy efficiency.

The new approved rates will result in an increase of 7.7 percent, or $3.33 monthly, for the average residential ratepayer. The residential basic monthly service charge, imposed

regardless of usage, will remain at $10.70.

The rate increase depends on how much gas customers use and will affect people in cold climates who use gas for heating more so than it would be for those who use the fuel to cook and heat water.

Statewide there are approximately 1 million Southwest Gas customers, 6,500 in the Douglas, Pirtleville and Elfrida areas.

Southwest Gas officials said decoupling was needed because the Corporation Commission requires natural-gas utilities to decrease the amount of fuel they sell by 6 percent by 2020.

“It protects the customer in times of high usage but it also protects also Southwest Gas should we have a cold spell like we did last year ,” Libby Howell, spokeswoman for Southwest Gas said.

A consumers bill could rise or fall depending on the cost-recovery mechanism. There will be a five percent cap to the non-portion of the customers bill which will amount to about $1.50 a month on top of the rate increase.

That increase could also wind up as a credit if it turns out the company has recovered enough in fixed costs.

Southwest Gas is also prohibited from filing a general rate case that would result in changes to customer rates prior to 2017.

 

Copyright © 2013 Douglas Dispatch

Comments

    Raise wrote on Jan 9, 2012 5:43 AM:

    " Wish I had gotten an 8% raise to pay for this hike! It is a crime that Southwest has done this. "

    Phil wrote on Dec 30, 2011 10:43 PM:

    " Unacceptable...please read
    Prices of natural gas are falling< who are these people. stop the fedidsh of money. find another avenue to get raise more cash
    Call Southwest Gas and complain!!! "

    Shame On You wrote on Dec 30, 2011 9:24 AM:

    " Unbelievable! What is it with this hike? We are being held hostage to their whims. Anytime they feel like it they hike our prices! We have not had raises on our jobs for years but these companies keep raising their prices. This is a crime!! How can we afford to live!!!!!! "

    Richard Bergquist wrote on Dec 25, 2011 1:47 PM:

    " The EPA will kill us all. "

    wild Bill wrote on Dec 24, 2011 3:12 AM:

    " This, in a time when A. Natural gas prices are dropping and 2. When everyones' buying power is dropping (not to mention the unemployed).
    Decoupling? kicking the consumer who economizes? Penalizing those who develop a greener way? Decoupling: big business' answer to progress. "

    Francisco Segovia wrote on Dec 22, 2011 4:04 PM:

    " Why do we as homeowners bother to make our homes more energy efficient just so utility companys can raise their rates to "recover lost revenue" due to these upgrades. As far as I am concerned: to bad, so sad! "

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