LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – An application by Southwest Gas to raise homeowners’ rates some 10% in the near future has some customers saying enough is enough.

“It’s going to put a lot of stress on us because we won’t be able to afford it,” Maria Prentice of Las Vegas said.

She and her husband are retired and this type of increase impacts their ability to pay for some of their other essentials.

“We’re sick. We’re paying for a lot of medication and it will affect us,” she said.

Prentice testified before the state Public Utility Commission earlier this month at one of several hearings meant to allow the community to speak on the matter. The PUCN held two such hearings on Tuesday.

The utility said it needs to raise some $69.8 million to help pay to deliver natural gas safely to hundreds of thousands of residents throughout Nevada – the overwhelming majority of them in the Las Vegas valley. That should amount to about $8.14 per month for the average customer, Southwest Gas estimates, and a few dollars less in Northern Nevada.

“They say eight dollars,” Prentice said. “And before you know it, they’ll raise up a little more, a little more.”

PUCN said the application details a need to replace infrastructure.

“Included in SWG’s application are the revenue requirements associated with gas infrastructure replacement (GIR) and the Mesquite Expansion Project that was previously approved by the PUCN,” the utilities commission said in a release. “SWG also seeks a determination of prudency for the GIR projects and for the costs associated with the Mesquite Expansion Project.”

In April, a Senate Growth and Infrastructure Committee hearing detailed a $3 billion project that would put SWG’s customers on the hook for replacing pipes.

Legislation for that project in 2021 was not approved.

Advocacy groups criticize SWG for frequent rate increases, including both permanent and in-season hikes.

Prentice, on that point, said she understands rates must rise, but that this particular increase is untenable, and part of a larger economic discussion.

“It’s a shame that people have to work two jobs to make ends meet,” Prentice added.

The rate hike, representing an additional 10% or so customer’s bill, is approximately two percentage points higher than the eight percent raise earned by SWG’s former president and CEO. James P. Hester earned $5.674 million in 2021 and $6.13 million in 2022, according to the company’s 2023 proxy statement.

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