PG&E bills to rise as California regulators approve 4th rate hike this year

FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- After extended nationalist comment, astir demanding the connection beryllium turned down, the California Public Utilities Commission granted PG&E yet different energy complaint hike of astir 3% connected Thursday.

PG&E customers tin expect an summation of astir $6 arsenic soon arsenic October.

"PG&E is already the astir costly powerfulness supplier successful the state, and PG&E customers are already paying astir of the astir costly inferior rates successful the country," says Nathaniel Enwright with the Reclaim Our Power Coalition.

At Thursday's meeting, complaint payers plead to the commissioners to perceive their outcry and crook down the proposal.

"I can't judge you guys spell to furniture astatine nighttime knowing what you're doing, knowing what's going connected successful the community," says Robert Martinez, a PG&E customer.

The ballot was unanimous but galore are captious of however the gathering transpired.

"To adhd insult to injury, the commissioners didn't adjacent explicate their vote. They didn't adjacent accidental wherefore they were voted, they enactment the summation connected the consent agenda, truthful determination was nary treatment among them," said Mark Toney, the enforcement manager of the Utility Reform Network.

According to PG&E data, residential inferior rates person accrued astir 54% since 2020.

This, the 4th hike this twelvemonth alone. expanding bills by astir $6.

PG&E officials accidental they are doing what they tin to stabilize rates, pointing to a impermanent complaint alteration that went into effect successful July to offset the consequent increases.

"This follows a 9% alteration successful July, and past a fractional percent summation successful September, and past this would beryllium different 3% increase," says Jeff Smith, PG&E Spokesperson.

The institution says it is successful a pugnacious spot portion paying for wildfire mitigation, undergrounding wires, and repairs from caller wintertime storms.

PG&E says during the caller wintertime storms, it restored powerfulness to much than 7 cardinal customers and mobilized implicit 7,200 unit to regenerate oregon repair much than 4,500 poles and 850 miles of wire.

The Reclaim Our Power Coalition is calling connected lawmakers to enactment utilities into the public's hands.

"The solution to PG&E antagonistic negligence, crimes, and exploitation is elemental to get implicit and fto the radical tally their energy," said Enwright.

PG&E says it is being bully stewards of customers' money.

In a connection to Action News, PG&E wrote:

"Our layers of extortion person reduced wildfire hazard crossed our work area, and we person enhanced our quality to respond to storms, wildfires and different earthy catastrophe emergencies."

But complaint payers accidental they aren't buying it.

"PG&E has started the Dixie occurrence and the Mosquito fire, burning implicit 1,000,000 acres and sidesplitting 4 people. They've raised energy rates by implicit 60% successful their territory, unopen disconnected powerfulness to implicit 160,000 radical who couldn't spend to pay," said Enwright.

Action News has been pursuing the extended heatwaves each summertime long, customers seeing immoderate of the highest bills they've ever seen.

The Utility Reform Network says this is coming astatine the 'worst time,' saying that Thursday's complaint hike was conscionable the beginning.

They accidental PG&E has 10 much complaint hike proposals connected the way.

The radical is present calling for a headdress connected these increases.

"What we request to bash is person immoderate bounds to these complaint increments. That's what TURN has been warring for. It is not sustainable to person a strategy wherever determination are nary limits to however overmuch PG&E tin inquire for increases. No limits to however galore times each year. And nary limits to however overmuch the utilities committee tin approve," said Toney.

This latest complaint hike comes arsenic PG&E stopped accepting applications for its REACH alleviation programme owed to overwhelming demand.

But the inferior says it has respective different cost-cutting programs to assistance customers.

The qualifications alteration depending connected each program.

For a afloat database of PG&E alleviation programs, click here.

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