Bankruptcy PG&E celebrates the new year with an increase in electricity bills.
Customers who don’t receive the company’s low-income discount will see their electricity bill increase by $ 3.29 a month, or about 2.7 percent, on average. Growth in electricity tariffs will be moderated slightly by a decrease in gas loads (about 65 cents (1.3%)), says PG&E.
The increase in the electricity tariff was previously approved by the State Public Services Commission and other regulatory bodies, but more could come in 2021. By announcing a proposed solution with several advocacy groups on December 20, PG&E said gas and electricity customers would have a rate rise of $ 5.69 a month (3.3 percent).
And in a separate regulatory filing on Friday, the company said it intends to seek a 2.7 percent increase in utility costs for power transmission and a measure of residential customer bonds, according to the East Bay Times.
The state PUC has not yet ruled on the proposed rate hikes.
PG&E currently bills the typical residential customer $ 172.65 for combined electricity and gas services each month, an amount that will rise to $ 175.29 as of New Year’s Day.
RELATED: Therefore, PG&E does not put more power lines underground
The company faces an estimated $ 30 billion liability for wildfires set on fire by its teams in 2017 and 2018, including Camp Fire, which killed 85 people and nearly leveled the city of Paradise.
PG&E spokeswoman Kristi Jourdan said in an email Monday that changes are needed in the electricity and gas tariff to ensure the safe and reliable delivery of clean energy. He noted that they will not fund the liabilities arising from the northern California forest fires of October 2017, nor the November 2018 field fire, nor the costs associated with the voluntary procedures in Chapter 11 of PG&E.
“We recognize that any increase in a customer’s bill can be a challenge. As always, our commitment is to keep customer costs as low as possible and fulfill our responsibilities to serve our customers safely, even if the our changing climate presents significant new challenges and risks. ” Said Jourdan.
—
Mike Moffitt is a digital reporter for SFGATE. Email: [email protected]. Twitter: @Mike_at_SFGate