PG&E and State Farm Increase their Rates in the Bay Area
Source: Telemundo Bay Area | By Bob Redell, NBC Bay Area, & Libertad Pedraza
PG&E has raised its rates and now the state's largest home insurer is about to do the same. State Farm, which insures about one in 10 to 11 homes in the Bay Area and the rest of California, has received approval from the state Department of Insurance to increase rates by an average of 20% per homeowner.
Ratepayer advocacy group TURN said PG&E could ask customers to refund them.The rate increase already approved will increase the average PG&E bill by $34. PG&E is also separately requesting another increase in March. If that passes, the average bill could rise again by $24. PG&E could also request another increase of about $43 a month. That brings the total to $100 more for the average monthly bill. "The California Public Utilities Commission is in charge of reviewing every rate increase request and, unfortunately, has repeatedly sided with Wall Street investors instead of regular customers," said the CEO of TURN, Mark Toney. "That's why bills have skyrocketed so much in recent years."
