THE GAS COMPANY OF NEW MEXICO IS ASKING STATE REGULATORS TO APPROVE A 1-POINT-4 PERCENT RATE HIKE. IT LAST REQUESTED A RATE INCREASE IN 2012 … BUT SINCE THEN IT SAYS IT’S INVESTED A LOT OF MONEY INTO THE NATURAL GAS TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM.
IF THE PUBLIC REGULATION COMMISSION APPROVES THE PROPOSAL, THE INCREASE WOULD RAISE THE COMPANY’S ANNUAL REVENUE BY 8-MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR AND RECOVER ROUGHLY 250-MILLION IN MONEY INVESTED.
THE ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL REPORTS THE 1-POINT-4 PERCENT THE GAS COMPANY WANTS IS MUCH LESS THAN IT WOULD HAVE BEEN DUE TO THE FEDERAL TAX REFORM THAT LOWERS CORPORATE INCOME TAX FROM 35 PERCENT TO 21 PERCENT.