Southwest Gas Test Year 2026 General Rate Case Application
Southwest Gas filed a general rate case application (A.24-09-001) with the Commission on September 6, 2024, seeking authority to increase revenues within the Company’s three California service territories or rate jurisdictions. A.24-09-001 seeks the following increases:
| Jurisdiction | Proposed Increase |
|---|---|
| Southern California | $38.5 million |
| Northern California | $2.5 million |
| South Lake Tahoe | $7.7 million |
Southwest Gas has requested that the proposed increases be included in rates by January 1, 2026
Southwest Gas is also requesting authority to make Post-Test Year Margin adjustments of 2.75% for years 2027 through 2030 in each of its three rate jurisdictions.
Southwest Gas is requesting these increases:
- To recover the cost of the significant investments made in its gas distribution system required to provide safe and reliable service to its California customers.
- To reflect the current cost of providing safe and reliable service in rates, including increases in operating expenses due to inflation.
- Due to continued customer growth and the demand for natural gas service and the associated costs to provide service to these customers.
If the Commission approves Southwest Gas’ application, the typical monthly bills for residential customers would be:
Proposed Monthly Gas Rates for Residential Customers
| Jurisdiction | Number of Therms | %Increase |
Average Residential
Monthly Bill Increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southern California | 36 | 21.8% | $15.99 |
| Northern California | 66 | 1.2% | $1.35 |
| South Lake Tahoe | 64 | 35.7% | $28.97 |
Conservation and Energy Efficiency (CEE) Programs
Southwest Gas has proposed to continue its existing CEE programs for years 2026-2030. The CEE programs are:
- Residential Equipment Rebates Program
- Commercial Equipment Rebates Program
- Residential Equipment Direct-Install (REDI) Program
- New Homes Rebates Program
- Solar Thermal Rebates Program
Risk-Informed Decision-Making Process
Beginning in Southwest Gas’ last general rate case (A.19-08-015), a risk-informed decision-making process was incorporated to identify and evaluate risks and mitigations to address the identified risks. In A.24-09-001, Southwest Gas is proposing to continue the three risk-based programs authorized in A.19-08-015 and add a fourth program.
Currently authorized risk programs continuation:
Meter Protection Program – includes a suite of safety options that are aimed at enhancing the protection of existing meters in heavy snow load areas that currently do not have an adequate form of meter protection against snow load. The options include:
- Retrofitting meter sheds for current customers without such protection
- Evaluating and installing an Excess Flow Valve on certain service lines
- Upgrading the meter encoder receiver transmitter (ERT) device to allow for daily meter usage monitoring
Total California Program Budget (2026-2030): $44 million.
School Customer-Owned Yard Line (COYL) Program – a COYL is the primary customer-owned and maintained gas piping that is downstream of the meter. Through the COYL Program, Southwest Gas proposes to replace all known School COYLs in its California jurisdictions by offering schools the option to relocate their meters and replace the COYL with facilities that are owned and maintained by Southwest Gas.
Total California Program Budget (2026-2030): $29.3 million.
Targeted Pipe Replacement Program (Southern California only)
- 9 miles per year of pre-1961 vintage distribution steel pipelines
- 1.2 miles per year of pre-1961 vintage distribution high-pressure steel pipelines
- 27 miles per year of DriscopipeTM 700 distribution plastic pipelines
Total California Program Budget (2026-2030): $115.6 million.
A fourth proposed risk-based program:
Annual Leak Survey Program – Investment in new equipment and personnel to establish and facilitate annual leak surveys utilizing Advanced Mobile Leak Detection equipment.
Total California Program Budget (2026-2030): $10.2 million.
The revenue requirement associated with the four risk-based programs are proposed to be recovered through the Infrastructure Reliability and Replacement Adjustment Mechanism (IRRAM) surcharge.
Additional Resources
Application
