Think the cost of energy is high? Nope, Government is about to raise it again—and later in the year, raise it again.
“Bills for PG&E customers will go up by $5 per month beginning in April following state regulators’ unanimous approval Thursday.
The California Public Utilities Commission voted in favor of the increase, which will allow the utility company to recoup a portion of money that was spent on wildfire mitigation over the past four years.
The fees add to the 13% rate increase that took effect in January, which pumped $13.3 billion from rate increases into burying and upgrading power lines in areas susceptible to fires.”
Can you afford government? This is why you need a U-Haul to flee the State.
CPUC approves PG&E rate hike months after utility rolled out another
By James Salazar, SF Examiner, 3/8/24 https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/the-city/yet-another-pge-rate-hike-coming-to-bay-area-power-bills/article_89ecdd54-dd9d-11ee-b17a-db1b322fd7f1.html
Bills for PG&E customers will go up by $5 per month beginning in April following state regulators’ unanimous approval Thursday.
The California Public Utilities Commission voted in favor of the increase, which will allow the utility company to recoup a portion of money that was spent on wildfire mitigation over the past four years.
The fees add to the 13% rate increase that took effect in January, which pumped $13.3 billion from rate increases into burying and upgrading power lines in areas susceptible to fires.
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“PG&E’s rate increases will affect San Franciscans as long as this private utility continues to control the power grid in The City,” Dennis Herrera, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission’s general manager, said Friday.
Local officials have made an effort to buy the electric grid for the utility company — but, Herrera said “PG&E is thwarting that while raking in $2 billion in profits last year on the backs of ratepayers.”
The rate hikes fall under PG&E’s Wildfire Gas and Safety Cost Interim Rate Relief. Company officials said that they requested to recover costs over several years to limit the effect on customers.
“PG&E is focused every day on delivering a safe, reliable, climate-resilient and clean energy system at the lowest possible cost,” PG&E spokesperson Megan McFarland said in a statement to The Examiner. “Our system has never been safer, and we continue to make it safer every day.”
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“We are working to keep customer bill increases between an average of 2 to 4% a year,” she said.
PG&E announced last month that it had made $2.2 billion in profit last year, a 25% increase from the year before.
McFarland told The Examiner that less than 1% of the reported 2023 profits were paid to shareholders. She said that more than 99% was being reinvested back into the company’s energy system “to improve how we serve customers and support our return to financial health.”
Still, the rate hikes are not being viewed favorably.
“California’s electric monopolies are constantly lobbying to raise our electric bills and the state’s public utility commission responds every time like lap dogs to a belly rub,” Environmental Working Group president Ken Cook said.
“By approving yet another rate increase for PG&E, the CPUC continues to demonstrate its blatant disregard for the hardworking families in the state who are already struggling to pay the highest electricity bills anywhere in the country,” he said.
The CPUC is poised to vote on another hike later this year, as PG&E is looking to increase monthly rates $14 to pay for damage repairs from storms last year. The utility says its application is still pending.
