Residents are Feeling the Pain of Record PG&E Bills, but there May be More Hikes on the Way

Source: The Press Democrat  |  By Marisa Endicott

By the end of last year, PG&E customers owed more than $650 million in unpaid energy bills, according to data compiled by The Utility Reform Network. Customers of California’s other investor-owned utilities are similarly behind by hundreds of millions resulting in a statewide 500% increase in back-owed utility bills since 2019. Nearly 182,000 households served by PG&E who fell behind had their electricity cut off for nonpayment in 2023, almost a quarter of which were never reconnected. Utility advocates and legislators say outreach from frustrated or desperate customers has reached a fever pitch. There’s concern, too, about how high electricity costs will affect the feasibility and buy-in for the state’s massive electrification push.

“I have seen and heard more outrage from everyday customers than I ever have,” said Mark Toney, executive director of The Utility Reform Network (TURN), a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization. “Every elected official I run into is telling me that they are just buried with calls from constituents.” Still, that doesn’t mean an immediate stop to rate hikes. Toney, of the utility reform group, noted that there are a number of rate increase requests under consideration by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). In fact, on Thursday, March 7, regulators will decide whether to approve the collection of hundreds of millions of dollars from PG&E customers. That increase would allow PG&E to start charging for a portion of a larger proposal filed Dec. 1 by the utility that is still pending approval. If allowed, that could kick in as early as April or May. “It's a smaller increase between four to six dollars a month,” said Toney said. “But, at this point, every increase is just piled on top of what people are already seeing, and we're not done for the year by any stretch in terms of increases, I can guarantee you.”