FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MEDIA ADVISORY
Media Contact: Christopher Chow, (415) 703-2234 Docket #s: SoCalGas: A.14-11-004; SDG&E: A.14-11-003
CPUC HOLDS PUBLIC PARTICIPATION HEARINGS ON RATE CHANGE REQUESTS OF SOCALGAS
SAN FRANCISCO, May 11, 2015 – The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) will hold two Public Participation Hearings regarding proposed rate change requests of Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) next Wednesday, May 20, 2015 in Santa Ana.
The public hearings will be conducted in two sessions, scheduled for 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. on May 20th. They will be held at the Santa Ana City Hall Council Chambers, 22 Civic Center Plaza, Santa Ana, CA 92701.
SoCalGas’ General Rate Case Application seeks CPUC approval to update its revenue requirement to $2.342 billion, effective January 1, 2016. If approved, this revenue requirement would be an increase of about $245 million over the estimated 2015 revenue requirement, or a 12 percent increase.
According to SoCalGas, when the impact of commodity costs and other accounting adjustments are included, an average residential customer (using 39 therms per month) can expect a bill increase of about $2.61 per month (or 5 percent), as compared to the 2015 bill.
The Public Participation Hearings are being convened to make customers aware of the proposed revenue changes, and to solicit comments from customers about the impact the proposed changes could have on them.
The hearings are part of a series convened by the CPUC throughout the central and southern California regions regarding the rate change requests of Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) and San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E). SDG&E and SoCalGas are affiliated companies owned by Sempra Energy.
A CPUC Decision regarding the rate cases is expected in January 2016.
Comments from the public can help the CPUC reach an informed decision, and consumers are encouraged to attend Public Participation Hearings. For those unable to attend a Public Participation Hearing in person, written comments on any proceeding may be submitted to:
CPUC Public Advisor, 505 Van Ness Ave., Room 2103, San Francisco, CA 94102, or via email to public.advisor@cpuc.ca.gov.
Please refer to the proceeding numbers on any written or email correspondence. All public comments received are provided to the CPUC’s Commissioners and the Administrative Law Judges assigned to the case.
Documents related to the SoCalGas proceeding are available at http://delaps1.cpuc.ca.gov/CPUCProceedingLookup/f?p=401:56:5727864351918::NO:RP,57,RIR:P5_PROCEEDING_SELECT:A1411004
If specialized accommodations are needed to attend a Public Participation Hearing, such as sign language interpreters, please contact the CPUC’s Public Advisor’s Office at public.advisor@cpuc.ca.gov or toll free at 866-849-8390 at least five business days in advance of the hearing.
For more information on Public Participation Hearings, please see www.cpuc.ca.gov/PPH.
While a quorum of Commissioners and/or their staff may attend these Hearings, no official action will be taken.
For more information about the CPUC, please visit www.cpuc.ca.gov.
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