Rising electricity bills and, by extension, the expense of living for low-income Californians, will be felt by millions of customers shortly as a result of PG&E’s rate hikes in response to a recent court decision.
In November, the power company’s request for $13.5 billion to improve and underground the firefighting system, control vegetation, and increase capacity was approved by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).
Electric and natural gas bills are going up by about $33 for customers as of January 1.
The shift would have the greatest impact on low-income families, according to Mark Toney, the executive director of the advocacy group The Utility Reform Network (TURN).
“I like to say we want the most green for the least green,” Toney said, adding that the cost of “greening the grid” shouldn’t force low-income households of color to go without electricity due to exorbitant monthly costs.
When asked about his concerns about potential power outages caused by rising utility costs, Toney expressed concern that some families would be unable to pay.
Candles are a cheap alternative, but they pose a fire hazard if families with young children are careless and don’t put out the flames quickly enough. Long periods of electrical connection are associated with medical equipment, which can lead to large electricity bills for people who rely on them for health-related reasons.
Already, some people in the Bay Area are having trouble paying their power bills.
Image – Reddit
Rev. Dr. Barbara Jim-George, a longtime resident of Oakland, has taken to employing strange and possibly harmful methods to circumvent her central heating system. For example, she has been known to leave a hot oven door ajar to warm her living room, as her apartment is “like a walk-in freezer.”
This technique of heating your home has been advised against by the CDC because of the potential for the release of harmful gases and pollutants, such as carbon monoxide, and the exacerbation of preexisting lung conditions.
Something left out on Jim-George’s table at night will be just OK, exactly like it would be in the fridge, he claimed.
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After retiring in 2014, she lived frugally for a few years until she had to return to work in 2018 due to the insufficiency of her social security payments to cover her expenses.
The reverend expects a bigger electricity bill soon due to the persistent cold and rainy periods.
Jim-George pointed the finger at PG&E, saying that the company failed to learn from past disasters and prioritize customer safety. Jim-George mentioned that her cousin had lost their home in the 2018 Camp Fire, the worst wildfire in California history.
We are bearing the financial burden of their errors; they [PG&E] ought to have buried wires a long time ago. Jim-George expressed his belief that their lack of foresight in recognizing the issues earlier was negligent.
Organizations in the region have been receiving a large influx of housing and emergency requests for decades, and this trend has only grown since the pandemic hit four years ago. The reverend is just one of many who will need to cut back on spending or get a second job to pay the sky-high housing costs.
The number of calls regarding households without energy or months behind on bills and in danger of losing power in their homes has quadrupled, indicating an exponential growth in the demand for utility help.
Callers to 211 continue to express a primary focus on housing and associated concerns, according to Allison DeJung.
She said that her team fielded over 69,000 calls and referred over 113,000 people to county resources in the previous fiscal year for help with housing, utilities, food stamps, and other difficulties.
The number of callers requesting utility assistance has increased from less than 2% before the pandemic to 8.2% in the past year, according to data from Eden I&R. The majority of 211 callers were Black or Latino and single parents, and 40% of those callers were from Oakland. Most callers were between the ages of 25 and 64, and the proportion of females was more than double that of males.
DeJung mentioned that the majority of individuals who called seeking assistance with paying their utility bills were linked to Spectrum Community Services.
Providing food, water, and utility assistance to low-income families and individuals has been a mission of the nonprofit group Spectrum since 1971.
Nearly 10,000 people applied for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) last year; the program helps families pay their past-due energy bills. Only 5,000 of those people were helped by the organization.
The majority of Spectrum’s utility aid recipients were residents of Oakland, and the majority of applicants were Black households, which is consistent with data from Eden I&R.
The main reason they have to reject away candidates is the lack of funds, according to Lara Calvert, the Executive Director of Spectrum Community Services.
Once per twelve months, up to a maximum of $3,000 in past due bills, assistance can be provided. Because funds run out faster if more people request high amounts of assistance, Calvert noted that the huge cap is another reason why fewer people are helped each year.
Those with a greater total energy burden for their home, as well as homes with persons who are over 60 years old, disabled, or have children five years old or younger are given priority by Spectrum.
When a household’s energy or utility expenses consume most of their monthly income, it becomes difficult to preserve a sustainable standard of living. This is known as a high energy burden.
Despite the increased visibility the organization had at the start of the epidemic, Calvert said that 2023 was the busiest year for program requests from locals, and that trend shows no signs of abating anytime soon.
The amount of money we have to distribute this year will be significantly exceeded by the enormous number of persons seeking assistance, according to Calvert.
