PG&E Proposes New Rate Hike: Will California Regulators Give the Green Light?

MJP –

Electricity costs could get even higher for many Bay Area residents if California regulators vote Thursday to allow PG&E to hike rates … again.

As the utility seeks to recover $943.9 million in costs related to wildfire mitigation and damages from power outages during severe storms in recent years, it is asking state regulators to approve a temporary rate increase of $5.16 per month for its average customer.

It’s the third such “interim rate relief” request from PG&E within a year, according to California Public Utility Commission documents. In July 2023, regulators allowed PG&E to raise rates temporarily by an average of $10.30 and then again by around $5 a month the following March.

These smaller, temporary rate hikes are in addition to regulators’ approval of a much larger general rate adjustment proposal last year to help PG&E cover the cost of burying thousands of miles of lines underground in the most wildfire-prone parts of the state, as well as other investments.

Ratepayers saw an average increase of about $30 a month on their bills beginning this year because of that.

PG&E customers’ rates have more than doubled in the last decade, and while they fluctuate from month to month, average bills for electricity and gas service can approach $300 a month.

PG&E has said the money would recover some of the costs of its response to the winter of 2022-2023, when “it restored power to 7 million customers during a record 15 major storms.”

“These costs were incurred beyond what has been authorized in rate proceedings,” the company said in a statement. “Interim Rate Relief helps to lower costs for customers in the long term and more appropriately allocate costs to those who were customers when the costs were incurred.”

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PG&E Rate Increase Hits Bay Area Households Already Struggling to Make Ends Meet

The company said it was able to reduce rates in July and is trying several strategies to bring down consumer energy costs.

However, consumer advocacy groups like The Utility Reform Network, or TURN, have consistently opposed these price hikes. In filings with state regulators, the group said, “There may never be a worse time for PG&E to propose interim rate recovery,” given the compounding impacts of all the recent cost increases.

The commission is scheduled to vote on the issue at a hearing that begins Thursday at 11:00 a.m.