In the midst of a blizzard of retail energy cost rate adjustments throughout the western states, Las Vegas, NV-based Southwest Gas Corp., provides an exception, facing the winter with lower retail rates and confidence that its supply/price situation will remain relatively stable, although it is keeping a wary eye on Enron’s supply deals with some of its largest customers, a spokesperson said Friday.

Separate general rate increase and decrease requests in Nevada were merged by state regulators into a $19 million overall rate decrease effective Dec. 1, amounting to an 11.7% drop in rates in the southern half of the state and 8.5% decline for the northern part of the state. And the utility, which serves customers in California and Arizona, in addition to its statewide franchise in Nevada, anticipates filing another rate decrease related to the cost of gas the end of this coming winter, the spokesperson in Las Vegas said.

Southwest’s customers in California and Arizona pay varying monthly charges based on swings in the cost of gas, but in Nevada, state regulators still maintain a purchased-gas-adjustment (PGA) process, adjusting rates sometimes twice a year.

Southwest has no direct exposure to Enron, other than occasional spot purchases from the struggling Houston energy giant, but many of the utility’s largest customers buy their supplies from Enron and have Southwest transport them locally. If Enron were suddenly to be unable to supply the loads, it could challenge Southwest’s gas portfolio, but the spokesperson indicated no one is concerned at this point.

Much of the pending litigation against Southwest from a failed merger attempt with Southern Union has now been tossed out of court or settled, so the company feels it is in better shape to take advantage of a service territory with the highest growth rate in the nation. Southwest serves about 1.3 million customers in three states.

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