New Gas Rates for 2026 Support Safe, Reliable Service

We’ve significantly upgraded our system over the past 12 years to maintain safe, reliable natural gas service for our growing communities. We now serve nearly 170,000 customers – about 14 percent more than we did 12 years ago – in a territory that spans more than 55,000 square miles, the largest service territory of any gas system in the state.  Our system requires ongoing maintenance and upgrades to more than 3,100 miles of gas distribution mains and more than 156,000 service lines, as well as other facilities that support safe, reliable service.

UniSource has invested more than $260 million since 2012 to upgrade and reinforce our system and facilities. Some of those investments include:

• $134 million in infrastructure to support growth, including 130 miles of new gas distribution mains, 7,719 new service lines, and other improvements.
• $60 million to reinforce our system, including large pipeline replacement projects
• $26 million for capital improvements to support road projects and other public improvements.
• $49 million for upgraded communications, technology, operational equipment and fleet replacements.

Learn more about our infrastructure investments here.

We’re proud we’ve been able to provide such remarkable rate stability. Although we’ve passed along changes in natural gas costs without any markup, the revenues from new customers allowed us to keep our base rates fixed for more than 13 years. We also delayed a previously planned request to provide financial relief to our customers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

We know affordability is critical for our customers. UniSource works hard to manage its operations and maintenance costs through continuous improvement efforts and consistent scrutiny of expenses.  We also have taken advantage of periods of low interest rates to significantly reduce our cost of debt.

Thanks to these efforts, the average annual growth of our operation and maintenance costs have been limited to 1.5 percent between December 2010 and June 2024 despite average annual inflation of 2.7 percent during that period.

Yes. the Commission approved changes that will allow annual adjustments to customer rates.

The Annual Rate Adjustment Mechanism (ARAM) will be adjusted annually between rate cases to recover the costs of key investments from the prior year needed to serve our customers' growing needs. These investments costs include capital improvements such as pipeline replacement and safety-related projects, as well as operating and maintenance expenses, taxes, debt and other costs. To ensure transparency, customers and other interested parties will have opportunities to review and file public comments about the adjustments before rate adjustments receive final approval. The ARAM, which allows for both increases and decreases in customer rates, was designed pursuant to with guidance from the Arizona Corporation Commission’s policy statement on formula rates, and will support stable bills and more gradual rate changes for customers.

UniSource understands that many customers may be struggling financially. To provide relief, we offer low-income discounts, extended payment arrangements, payment extensions and other assistance to customers who are behind on their bills.

We also work with community partners to provide emergency bill payment assistance to qualifying customers. In addition to funds contributed by UniSource and our customers, these agencies can access federal energy assistance funds and emergency aid.

Our new rates expand the Customer Assistance Residential Energy Support (CARES) program to provide higher percentage discounts that benefit more customers.

Rather than a $3 monthly discount plus a $0.15-per therm seasonal discount, the ACC approved a simple $5 monthly discount plus a year-round 40 percent discount to gas costs included in our Purchased Gas Adjustment (PGA) surcharge. These changes provide typical CARES customers with discounts ranging from 24-28 percent year-round, compared to 12-19 percent under our current program.

The monthly Basic Service Charge for all residential customers will increase from $10 to $11.94 per month – the first increase in 13 years.

Customers pay for the energy they use and should expect their bills to be higher in the winter months when the weather is cooler.

The average monthly increase for residential customers with typical usage is projected to be less than $5, given an annualized average usage of 45 therms per month. That impact will vary by season given that the typical January bill for residential customers are based on an average of 101 therms per month while a typical July bill for residential customers is based on an average of 14 therms per month.

The new rates would consolidate our eight existing business rate classes into two classes based on their energy use levels. Those using less than 60,000 therms annually would be classified as Small Volume General Service, while those using more would be classified as Large Volume General Service.

The Basic Service Charge is set at about $29 per month for Small Volume General Service customers and at about $286 per month for Large Volume General Service Customers. While the total impact of those charges and other proposed usage-based delivery cost changes will vary widely for individual customers based on energy use, the average small volume commercial service using 270 therms per month, would see an increase of about $22. The average large volume industrial service customer using more than 20,800 therms per month, will pay about $1,300 more under the new rates.