PG&E Monthly Utility Bills will Drop – Temporarily – Starting July 1

Source: The Mercury News  |  By George Avalos

The utility will reduce residential electricity rates by about 9% starting July 1, the company said. The lower rates could reduce bills by $20 a month for a typical household that uses 500 kilowatt-hours per month of electricity, according to information provided by PG&E. As of April 2024, electricity bills averaged $226 a month for the typical residential customer, while gas bills averaged $74, according to PG&E.

“A 9% rate reduction is a drop in the bucket for customers who have been slammed” by monthly bills that have soared, said Mark Toney, executive director with The Utility Reform Network, or TURN, a consumer group. Since Jan. 1 of this year, PG&E has submitted four fresh proposals for rate increases to the state PUC, Toney added. “It is disingenuous for PG&E to take credit for a rate reduction that they are required by the PUC to pass along to customers who have made the final payment on a portion of the billions of dollars in utility overspending on wildfire mitigation,” Toney said.