PUC Orders Refunds for Customers of S. California Gas Co. This Month
Most Southern California Gas Co. customers will receive refunds this month as a result of an order Wednesday by the state Public Utilities Commission.
The size of the residential refunds depends on actual gas usage for 12 months ending in October. The commission’s order will mean a refund of about $1.41 for the average residential customer. It will appear as a credit on most December bills.
Industrial and commercial customers will be mailed refunds based on their gas consumption between October, 1981, and July, 1983.
The PUC action at a San Francisco meeting stems from a 1983 federal court decision that changed the way the heat content of natural gas is determined. Because natural gas is priced according to its heat content, the revised formula had the effect of lowering natural gas prices.
The court’s ruling reduced the amount of money the gas company should have paid its suppliers for gas between October, 1981, and July, 1983. The suppliers have refunded the money to the gas company, and the PUC requires that utilities pass along such refunds to its customers.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
