Southwest Gas wants to increase rates
Southwest Gas bills are likely to go for people in El Dorado County.
The utility says the average residential customer’s monthly bill for 73 therms would increase $7.21 to $73.41.
The Las Vegas-based company filed the increase request with the California Public Utility Commission on Dec. 20. The goal is to increase its 2014 authorized operating margin for natural gas service in El Dorado County by $2,716,647 or 13.6 percent.
Southwest also wants post-test year increases for 2015 through 2018, which would become effective Jan. 1 of each year.
According to the company, it wants to “recover the reasonable costs the company will incur to own and operate the facilities used to maintain and provide safe and reliable natural gas service to its California customers.”
Written comments on the proposed increase may be sent to: San Francisco Office (Headquarters), 505 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco, CA 94102. For more info, email public.advisor@cpuc.ca.gov or call 866.836.7825.
— Lake Tahoe News staff report
What a bunch of bull. Natural gas prices continue to fall and they want to increase rates. A total rip-off.
It has to do with the cost of the infrastructure not the gas.
With the falling price of gas, the rates can stay the same or even decrease and they will be making more money.
Funny how these monopolies including refuse can raise rates anytime they want. What are we to do – throw our trash in the streets and turn off our gas to complain?
Bob, another option would be to learn how rates are set. It just might be that there is a rational methodology for setting rates. I would start by looking up “base rate.”
Steven, you can only come to that conclusion after evaluating there capital improvement requirements and costs and then allocating those costs to therms sold. There have been some pretty big changes to gas pipeline regulations since an entire city block blew up.
their, not there
John…There, there ;-)
Are you saying John that the public is not getting the full story? Maybe the gas co should put that info out to the public at the same time they announce an increase. Any idea why you don’t do this?
“the average residential customer’s monthly bill for 73 therms would increase $7.21 to $73.41.”
is it just me or is this sentence non-undertandable? Is that the range of the increase? or is it the value of what the bill would increase? and if the average customers rate increase has a spread of $66, then certainly it’s not any reasonable assessment of “average customer”??
so much for spell checking – you all get the idea :)
Bob, its just boring. The information is really out there, but we are talking about depreciation of assets, replacement cost estimates and capital budgeting. I have a MBA and actually like budgeting, but its even boring to me. So the details dont get reported because frankly nobody would read it. However, if you call the gas company, there is a document that was prepared for the public utilities commission that goes into the rate calc in perfectly painful detail. Because they are a monopoly, the utilities get base rate plus about 5% as profit. It really is just above prime.
According to Southwest Gas, the average customer uses 73 therms a month. That customer’s bill would increase by $7.21/month.
Kathryn Reed, LTN publisher
‘is it just me or is this sentence non-understandable?’
Yes it is just you.
*facepalm*
to LTN admin – thanks for clarifying! :)
GREEED GREED GREED