PG&E customers will soon see their bills go up again.
The California Public Utilities Commission on Thursday approved another PG&E rate increase, which would bring bills up about $6 a month on average. The decision marks the fourth time PG&E was granted a rate increase this year.
PG&E said it needs to bump up bills in order to make back what it lost during last winter’s major storms.
Mark Toney with The Utility Reform Network, or TURN, disputes that claim.
"PG&E is half true by saying that some of the money increases are due to storms, but much more of the money is due to overspending on the vegetation management," Toney said.
Some ratepayers said they simply can't handle the fourth rate hike by the company this year.
In fact, the average monthly PG&E bill increased by about $34 in January, $4 in April, and almost $6 this month. The new increase goes into effect next month.
"It's becoming a challenge now to pay bills," San Bruno resident Anthony Schoenstein said. "It's becoming a challenge now to see what the benefit is."
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PG&E said its investments are delivering results and officials point to some relief coming in October in the form of a $55 one-time climate credit.
Utility officials also point to a 9% temporary rate decrease that went into effect in July, and they said they’re working to cut costs to bring prices down in the future.
Meanwhile, ratepayer advocates continue their push to put a limit on rate hikes.
"TURN has been fighting for a cap on utility bill increases to be no more than the cost of living adjustment provided by social security," Toney said.
PG&E said the average bill is now $281 a month, but most customers who spoke to NBC Bay Area said their monthly bill is much higher.
"We just see rates continually going up and up and I'm not seeing any benefit trickling down to us," Schoenstein said.
PG&E provided the following statement on Thursday:
"The 2023 Wildfire Mitigation and Catastrophic Events (WMCE) application was submitted to recover a portion of the costs associated with wildfire safety work and response to the historic storms of the winter 2022-2023. Timely recovery of these expenses helps to lower costs for customers in the long term.
PG&E restored power to more than 7 million customers during a record 15 major storms that winter-- mobilizing over 7,200 personnel to replace or repair more than 4,500 poles and 850 miles of wire.
At PG&E, our goal is to build a safe, reliable, sustainable and climate-resilient system at the lowest possible cost for customers. Our investments are delivering results. Our layers of protection have reduced wildfire risk across our service area, and we have enhanced our ability to respond to storms, wildfires and other natural disaster emergencies.
PG&E is working to stabilize bills and limit average annual combined gas and electric bill increases to no more than 3% through 2026. We’re being good stewards of our customers’ money by working to maximize every dollar, including adopting company-wide savings initiatives to reduce our operating costs and limit unnecessary expenses."
