Report Finds California Residential Electricity Rates Increasing Faster than Inflation
Source: CBS News | By Tori Apodaca
California residents are paying more for electricity than practically any other state, according to a Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) report. The report said California has the highest residential electricity rates across the country, just behind Hawaii. It found that residential electricity rates in the Golden State are increasing at a faster rate than inflation. The driving factors listed by the report are significant and increasing wildfire‑related costs, the state's ambitious greenhouse gas reduction programs and policies, and differences in utility operational structures and services territories.
"We got to have limits on increases, limits on overspending and limits on corporate profits so that everyday customers can get some relief," said Mark Toney, the executive director of The Utility Reform Network. Toney thinks there needs to be caps on nonfixed increases for investor-owned utilities like PG&E.
