June Gas Bills Will Be a Little Lighter

Southern California Gas Co.’s 4 million customers will receive refunds totaling $63 million in June, the company said Monday.

Residential customers will find one-time credits averaging $5.40 in their June bills under a distribution plan filed with the California Public Utilities Commission.

The precise amount of each credit will be based, however, on actual gas consumption from last May until the end of this month, and thus will vary. The $5.40 figures assumes a 12-month gas consumption of 700 therms.

Refunds for large commercial and industrial customers will be based on their actual consumption from October, 1981, through July, 1983.

Southern California Gas Co. said it is passing on to its customers rebates that it has received from several suppliers, mainly El Paso Natural Gas. The rebates stem from a change in the natural gas pricing formula that had been developed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

That formula was altered by a series of federal court actions from August, 1983, through March 5, the company said. As a result, gas producers are recalculating rates for the affected periods and making refunds to distributors such as Southern California Gas Co. Additional refunds are expected this fall and early next year, the company said, as other suppliers make similar refunds.

The June credit is the third in the last two years and brings to $11.45 the total average refund to residential customers, reflecting the generally declining cost of gas. The most recent rate increase was in May, 1983.