PG&E Customers Face Higher Bills — Again — After New Company Request

Source: The Mercury News  |  By George Avalos

PG&E customers face a fresh round of increases in monthly bills — yet again — because the utility seeks to win regulatory approval of early collections even before a key rate case is decided. The most recent request from PG&E sketches out a proposal for an eyebrow-raising $1.46 billion to cover the utility’s recent spending on wildfire mitigation, as well as to help the company stabilize its financial situation.

“2024 is shaping up to be a painful year for PG&E customers, who may be looking at bill increases of $40 to $60 a month more than in 2023, once all the increases are added up,” Toney said. PG&E is seeking approval of the interim rates to cover recent expenditures in 2022 and 2023 that were linked to wildfire mitigation, vegetation management and catastrophic events such as winter storms that required extraordinary responses by the utility.