Southwest Gas Files General Rate Case

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Nov 12, 2010, 05:00 ET

LAS VEGAS, Nov. 12, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE: SWX) filed a General Rate Case ("GRC") application with the Arizona Corporation Commission ("ACC") today. The filing will now be subject to a comprehensive regulatory review by the ACC; a decision in the matter is expected in early 2012.

"In addition to updating our rates to reflect current costs, the application allows Southwest Gas to embrace the Commission's recently-drafted gas utility energy efficiency standard," said Don Soderberg, vice president of Pricing. "Since saving energy and money is as important to our customers now more than ever, our filing includes a number of new programs that will assist customers in using energy more efficiently. Our application also requests new rate provisions that reduce weather-related fluctuations in our customers' bills, while ensuring Southwest Gas recovers no more or less revenue than is authorized by the Commission."

Southwest Gas filed its last GRC case with the ACC in 2007. Based on today's filing, total revenues would increase by 9.2% or $73.2 million. If the filing is approved by the ACC, an average single family residential bill would be approximately $47.05.

Southwest Gas provides natural gas service to 1.82 million customers in Arizona, Nevada, and California.

This press release may contain statements which constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (Reform Act). All such forward-looking statements are intended to be subject to the safe harbor protection provided by the Reform Act. A number of important factors affecting the business and financial results of the Company could cause actual results to differ materially from those stated in the forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, the impact of weather variations on customer usage, customer growth rates, conditions in the housing market, the effects of regulation/deregulation, the timing and amount of rate relief, changes in rate design, and the impacts of stock market volatility.

SOURCE Southwest Gas Corporation