The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer:
Paloma Greenwald
Just last year, Southwest Gas and its stockholders celebrated the largest revenue increase in company history, thanks to the company’s back-to-back rate hikes on Arizona customers in 2022 and 2023.
Here we are in 2024 and gas company executives once again are making plans to hike utility bills for the third time in three years! Southwest Gas filed a new rate case at the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC), seeking a $125.6 million increase to its revenues, which is a roughly 12% rate hike.
I’m certain most Arizonans would love a 12% annual salary increase at their place of employment, but we all know that is not happening. The reality is, many Arizonans, especially those from marginalized communities, struggle to pay their bills, while gas utility executives are getting rich.
The company’s latest earning report showed it generated its highest quarterly income ever recorded, and its 2024 report to stockholders shows President and CEO Karen S. Haller pulled in more than $7.1 million last year. The inequity is striking.
It is important to consider the issue of energy justice when discussing rate increases for so-called “natural” gas because these increases disproportionately impact low-income, marginalized communities, families with children, and communities of color.
The latest data show Americans are increasingly struggling to pay high energy bills. For example, an April 2024 report from the National Energy Assistance Directors Association shows at least one-third of households of color, low-income households, and households with children, struggle to pay their utility bills. Many forgo basic necessities to pay their bills, and others set their thermostats at unhealthy levels.
I partner with Moms Clean Air Force to shed light on this unfair rate hike that our elected utility regulators at the ACC will soon be voting on. Our elected utility regulators must ensure that all Arizonans and communities have access to safe, reliable and affordable energy, regardless of their socioeconomic status or ZIP Code.
Utility regulators should be protecting consumer interests, but recent history shows they have not been on the side of everyday Arizonans. We need our regulators to pull back on the subsidies and incentives that increase our reliance on methane gas — a volatile fossil fuel that is both a powerful climate pollutant and linked to a host of respiratory illnesses.
Natural gas, made up primarily of methane, has a global warming potential as much as 87 times greater than carbon dioxide and contributes to our notoriously poor air quality in Arizona. Phoenix continues to rank among the most polluted cities in the United States. Methane gas also poses dangers in our homes and neighborhoods.
When it enters our homes, it poses significant health risks. Gas appliances, such as stoves, heaters, dryers and water heaters, emit pollutants, including nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and formaldehyde, which contribute to respiratory illnesses such as asthma.
I strongly oppose Southwest Gas’ request for its third rate hike in three years. We must make a meaningful transition away from fossil fuels like gas and coal to improve the health of our communities. This rate increase will only allow Southwest Gas to expand its reach in Arizona and line the pockets of its executives and shareholders.
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