OAKLAND — PG&E’s request to raise rates this spring — in part due to wildfire prevention work — are poised to propel utility bills past a grim milestone: Charges are slated to average more than $300 a month for the first time.
This month, bills for the typical residential customer climbed to $294.50. That’s already the highest average monthly bill ever for PG&E customers.
Oakland-based PG&E’s combined gas and electric bills are rising about eight times faster than the annualized increase in Bay Area consumer prices.
PG&E believes higher charges are necessary because of an array of upgrades and improvements to its electricity and gas systems aimed at reducing the chances of the company’s equipment unleashing disastrous fires or catastrophic explosions. The utility has been slapped with billions of dollars in penalties in connection with disasters PG&E has caused, including a fatal gas explosion in San Bruno in 2010 and fatal infernos.
Now another round of bill increases is expected to confront PG&E customers, likely starting in March 2024.
This time around, effective in March, monthly PG&E bills are likely to increase another $13.65 a month. This would take the average bill to $308.15 a month for the typical residential customer who receives combined electricity and gas services.
PG&E filed a request on Dec. 1 with the state Public Utilities Commission (PUC), which oversees PG&E, for the interim rate changes.
If the PUC approves the request, PG&E would be authorized to recover a portion of the costs arising from wildfire mitigation, catastrophic events such as wildfires and storms, and other activities related to safety. These costs do not include instances where PG&E equipment was found to have caused a fire.
An insert that accompanies this month’s bill details the potential impacts on customer bills that are expected in March.
The new potential monthly average would be 4.6% higher than the current monthly combined bill.
The March increase would consist solely of changes in the electricity bills. But future years are likely to bring increases in the natural gas component of the bill. Gas bills are slated to increase $3 a month in March 2025.
“Interim rate relief will help lower costs for customers in the long term,” PG&E spokesperson Mike Gazda said.
Effective Jan. 1, monthly electricity bills for the typical PG&E electricity customer reached an average of roughly $222 a month. That’s 28.4% higher than the monthly electricity bill of $172.84 in January 2023.
Gas bills now average $72 a month. That’s 6.1% higher than the average monthly gas bill of $67.89 in January 2023.
The current combined bill is 22.3% higher than the average monthly charges that went into effect about a year ago. At the start of January 2023, combined PG&E bills were $240.73 for the typical residential customer.
The utility titan says its goal is to bring annual increases in combined electricity and gas bills close to the yearly inflation rate.
The 22.3% increase in monthly bills, however, greatly exceeds the 2.8% rise in the Bay Area inflation rate as measured by consumer prices during the 12-month period that ended in October.
The state PUC should act to rein in soaring PG&E bills, in the view of Mark Toney, executive director of the consumer group, The Utility Reform Network (TURN).
“The current system that sets no limits on rate increases needs to be replaced by a cap on annual bills, set at the cost-of-living adjustment provided by Social Security,” according to a web post by TURN.
Adjustments for the cost of living are typically tied to a benchmark for inflation.
