Quick Take:
The utility says a typical residential electric and gas customer will see an increase of $13.44 per month — $10.40 more for electricity and $3.05 for gas service. The rate change went into effect on Monday, March 1, and will continue through Dec. 31, 2022.
Starting this month, PG&E electricity and natural customers will see higher monthly utility bills.
The utility says a typical residential electric and gas customer will see an increase of $13.44 per month — $10.40 more for electricity and $3.05 for gas service. The rate change went into effect on Monday, March 1, and will continue through Dec. 31, 2022.
The California Public Utilities Commission signed off on the increases late last year. The state’s decision, PG&E says, will enable it to make much-needed infrastructure improvements, “including investments to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires through electric system hardening, enhanced vegetation management, system automation, and asset inspection and repair.”
Some of the places the utility says the money will go are:
- Installing stronger poles and covered power lines in high fire-risk areas;
- Increasing ongoing work to keep power lines clear of branches;
- Expanding its network of weather stations; and
- Installing nearly 600 new high-definition wildfire detection cameras in high fire-threat areas.
More on the rate hikes
Here’s a look at rate hikes PG&E customers can expect, though actual impacts may vary based on usage:
Non-California Alternate Rates for Energy (non-CARE): The electric bill for a typical residential bundled non-CARE customer using 500 kWh per month would increase from $113.64 to $122.37 — a or 7.7% increase. The gas bill for a typical residential non-CARE customer averaging 34 therms per month of gas usage would increase from $52.30 to $54.13 — an increase of 3.5%.
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Direct Access and Community Choice Aggregation: Customers who only receive electric transmission and distribution services from PG&E will, on average, see an increase of 7.5%.
Departing Load: Customers who do not receive electric generation, transmission or distribution services from PG&E, will on average, see an increase of 3%.
PG&E also is saying it will not use the additional funds from the rate hikes for “legal claims resulting from the 2017 and 2018 Northern California wildfires” or to “fund any PG&E corporation or utility-officer compensation.”
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