Consumer advocates are expected to be out in force for a series of public hearings scheduled by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) on a substantial rate increase request by Las-Vegas, NV-based Southwest Gas Corp.

For Southwest Gas, which has gas distribution operations in the mountain and desert regions of California, the overall proposed increase amounts and the number of customers both appear to be relatively small. But the percentage increases can be high, since the bulk of the customers are moderate-income families living in colder climate areas with heavy natural gas use.

Percentage increases being sought bv Southwest range from 7.7% to more than 10%. An increase of $6.5 million is being sought in San Bernardino County in the south; and $2.2 million in the Lake Tahoe area.

Hearings have been set Aug. 12 through 19 in Hesperia, CA, in the high desert, Big Bear Lake in the San Bernardino Mountains and the Lake Tahoe area on the California-Nevada border in the northern half of the state.

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