UES Files Request for Gas Rate Increase

Arizona-based natural gas service provider UniSource Energy Services has filed a request for new gas rates that will increase residential bills by an estimated 7% over the course of a year.

Although the Arizona Corporation Commission approved rates in November 2007 that increased residential bills by an estimated 4%, those rates were based on costs the company incurred during 2005. UniSource Energy Services (UES) has spent more than $40 million on system additions and improvements since then while adding more than 5,000 new customers.

The proposed rates, which will take effect in spring 2009, incorporate a tiered structure designed to encourage energy conservation. Lower rates will be charged for low levels of usage. Because of this feature, customers who use less gas would pay lower average rates than those with greater consumption.

UES also has proposed making small adjustments to bills to reflect unexpected, weather-related changes in system-wide gas usage. It has proposed increasing the cost of new gas line extensions by $5.50 per foot.