PHOENIX — Natural gas in the Gila Valley users could see a hike in the monthly bill.
During Tuesday’s meeting, the Arizona Corporation Commission will hear the request from Southwest Gas to increase rates 7.6 percent.
Southwest Gas serves the majority of Graham County — except for Safford, which provides its own natural gas utility — and the Clifton area of Greenlee County.
If approved, the rate hike would be about $3 per month, bringing the average residential monthly bill to about $48. It’s the second rate hike requested by Southwest Gas in two years; in 2020, the natural gas provider received approval for a nearly 10 percent jump in rates.
In October 2020, Graham County Cooperative members voted to sell the co-op’s natural gas division to Southwest Gas; and in May 2022, Pima and Thatcher voters overwhelmingly approved Southwest Gas’ franchise agreements with the two towns.
Natural gas prices have skyrocketed over the past 12-18 months. As natural gas generates most of the electric power delivered by providers in Graham County, the result has been across the board hikes in residential and commercial electric rates.
The Corporation Commission will meet Tuesday at 9 a.m. in Phoenix. Members of the public outside of Phoenix who wish to comment on the rate hike request may do so via videoconference; however, an ACC portal account must first be created at https://efiling.azcc.gov/cases no later than one hour before the start of the meeting.
