Rate hike case proceeds

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Thursday, Jan. 8, 2004 | 11:02 a.m.

A request by Southwest Gas Corp. of Las Vegas to raise its Southern Nevada rates by 25.5 percent will continue to be considered following a Wednesday hearing by the state Public Utilities Commission.

PUC Commissioner Adriana Escobar Chanos, who is presiding over the case, rejected the state Bureau of Consumer Protection's request to throw out the case. She also rejected the utility's request to expedite the case. That proposal would have allowed half of the increase to go into effect on March 1.

All of the increase, if approved, would now go into effect June 1. That increase would amount to a $9.90 jump on the average customer's winter bill, or about $4.21 during the summer.

Escobar Chanos also asked for more information from the utility on its efforts to mitigate the effect of volatility in the natural gas market on local consumers.