How do I get a bigger Southwest Gas meter for my business?

Southwest Gas owns everything up to and including the meter. Its Arizona tariff says meters, regulators and service pipe it owns on your premises "shall continue to be the property of the Utility," and it can repair, replace or remove them. Everything past the meter outlet is yours. The tariff makes the customer responsible to "furnish, install and keep in good, safe and leak free condition a customer piping system."

That split decides who does what in an upgrade:

When the total gas load outgrows it. That usually happens with:

• A new restaurant moving into a space that used to be retail or office.
• Adding fryers, ranges, ovens or a second cooking line.
• A bigger commercial water heater, a boiler, or a switch to multiple tankless units.
• A standby generator on natural gas.
• A switch to 2 psi delivery, which Southwest Gas has to approve in writing.

Southwest Gas's tariff puts the duty on you: "It is the customer's responsibility to notify the Utility of changes in their load requirements." A meter that's too small can't deliver the full load when every appliance is running. Our guide to whether a restaurant gas line can handle a new fryer shows how to add up the load.

A load list and plans. Southwest Gas's Central Arizona commercial package has a "Mandatory Project Information" sheet and a service contract that together ask for:

• Every gas appliance, with quantity, Btu per hour for each, and the total connected load.
• Project details: the service address, an on-site contact, which side of the building the meter goes on, the length of the gas service from the property line to the meter, and the city that issued your building permit.
• The delivery pressure you need, plus your install date and meter turn-on date. The package notes that "Standard delivery pressure is 1/4 psi. Request for elevated pressure requires written approval prior to your house line install."
• Drawings: the legal plat, a gas riser diagram, and a site plan marking your preferred meter location, plus an electric plan if new electric service is going in. Civil drawings are needed only when the job requires a formal design, such as a gas line over 1,000 feet on the property or more than 2 risers.

Its Central Arizona commercial package adds details that affect bigger meters. "If your total gas load is greater than 1,000 CFH, please request our meter dimensions." And "If gas load is over 1,000 CFH, a rotary gas meter may need to be designed and built." That design takes at least two weeks, or four weeks over 7,000 cubic feet per hour. A gas meter also needs clear space: the package calls for a 3-foot radius from certain objects and open sky above it.

For businesses with very large loads, Southwest Gas's commercial services page says operations using more than 180,000 therms a year, or running generation, should contact its Key Account Management team. Phoenix-area commercial requests go through Customer Solutions at 877-860-6020.

### Who pays for the upgrade?

It depends on the utility's review, not on a price list you can see ahead of time. The tariff says that when changes are needed "due to customer requirements such as increased delivery pressure, larger meter capacity, etc.," the utility "at its option may make the changes so long as the changes will not be detrimental to other customers," and "The Customer may be required to reimburse the Utility for such customer required changes." Moving a meter just for convenience can also carry a charge "to cover the actual cost of the change." Ask Southwest Gas for its figure in writing before you commit to the equipment.

### What if the building has several tenants?

Multi-tenant buildings add a layer. Southwest Gas's tariff says that where separate meters are required for different tenants, "the Utility may require all meters to be located at a central point." So a restaurant in a strip center often gets its own meter on a bank of meters, and a bigger one has to fit in that bank. If one meter serves several tenants instead, the fuel gas code requires a separate shutoff valve for each tenant, and Section 409.3.1 says "Each tenant shall have access to the shutoff valve serving that tenant's space." Adding load to a shared meter affects the neighbors too, so the landlord is part of the conversation. Our page on who owns the gas piping in a strip center sorts out the split.

Your plumber resizes and permits the house line. A bigger meter doesn't help if the pipe behind it is too small, so the job usually includes:

1. 1Load and pipe sizing. Section 402.2 of the fuel gas code sizes pipe on "the sum of the maximum input of the appliances served." Phoenix's plan review checklist asks for the meter marked "EXISTING or NEW, documenting capacity," plus a sizing diagram and the Btu input of every appliance.
2. 2Permit. Phoenix's gas clearance table lists "Appliance upgrade with an increase in BTU consumption requiring piping capacity calculations" as needing a permit, a city inspection and a city clearance.
3. 3Tie-in. Southwest Gas "only ties in to one houseline," so all house lines get tied together by your plumber. The package says the tie-in point "should be reduced to 2" unless total gas load is over 3,500 CFH."
4. 4Test and inspection. The new piping is pressure tested and inspected. Our guide to how a gas line pressure test works walks through it.

Plan on weeks, not days. The Central Arizona package lists these minimums:

• Underground work (main, service, riser) starts at least 6 weeks after signed paperwork. A main design, permits, land rights or elevated pressure add 6 more weeks, for a 12-week minimum.
• A pre-construction meeting on site, then at least 3 to 4 weeks to install.
• The meter is set no sooner than 5 working days after Southwest Gas receives the city's clearance, or 8 working days for loads over 1,000 cubic feet per hour.
• A deposit is required, and the account holder calls 877-860-6020 to request the meter set.

The package is dated, and schedules shift with workload, so confirm current timelines with Southwest Gas when you apply. The takeaway holds: request the meter as soon as you know the load, not after the kitchen equipment ships. Our guide to what's involved in a restaurant gas line install lays out the full sequence.

HQ Plumbing & Air handles the customer side of commercial gas upgrades across the Phoenix area: the load calculations Southwest Gas asks for, pipe sizing, permits, the pressure test and the city clearance. You get a free estimate with the price up front.

The utility owns the meter. You own the paperwork that gets it.