Gas Co. Refunds Averaging $26 Will Lower Bills

Residential customers of Southern California Gas Co., including all of Orange County, will receive refunds averaging $26 on the November gas bill, officials said Wednesday.

The refunds totaling nearly $160 million were approved Wednesday by the California Public Utilities Commission, because the company overcharged customers between January and June of this year.

Ten cities in Orange County have utility taxes, and the refund will include a percentage of those.

The utility serves about 800,000 customers in Orange County.

The refunds were ordered because the Gas Co. did not pass on its savings when the cost of gas decreased and when the company’s own overhead dropped as a result of deregulation and increased competition in the industry, according to Pam Fair, Gas Co. vice president of residential services.

Refunds to residential, small commercial and industrial customers will be calculated based on gas usage in January, 1995. Gas Co. officials estimate that the average residential customer can expect to see a $26 credit applied to their next bill.

The credit comes on top of a previously announced rate reduction effective mid-September that saved residential customers an average of $1.85 per month.

Customers in cities with residential utility taxes also will see refunds on the overcharge. For example, if a customer gets a $10 credit and the city she lives in charges a 6% utility tax, she will receive an additional 60 cents, officials said.

In Orange County, cities with utility taxes include: Seal Beach, 11%; La Habra, 6%; Los Alamitos, 6%; Santa Ana, 6%; Stanton, 6%; Huntington Beach, 5%; La Palma, 5%; Westminster, 5%; Placentia, 4% and Buena Park, 3%.

Fullerton had a 2% utility tax, which ended after February, but will be calculated in the refund. Irvine charges a 1.5% utility tax only to its commercial and industrial customers.

If the credit exceeds a customer’s November bill, it will roll over to the next bills until it is used up, said Bob Perry, a Gas Co. spokesman.