Soaring California Electric Bills Could Prompt Last-Minute Lawmaking

Source: ABC 10  |  By Devin Trubey

With the legislative session closing at the end of the month, news that Governor Gavin Newsom could introduce legislation to curb PG&E spending and lower rates for all electric bills has been spreading. ABC10 can confirm there's some kind of bill being worked on at least. An energy advocacy group confirms they have been in meetings and heard briefings on possible legislation. An actual proposal could be seen by the end of this week or early next.

Mark Toney, with The Utility Reform Network (TURN), an energy advocacy group, said he’s been in briefings about the legislation and expects to see something in writing by next week. “PG&E is recording record profits at the time we are experiencing record bills,” Toney said. He would not comment on the discussions, but he and other advocacy groups wrote a letter asking for energy efficiency programs not to be cut. One of his suggestions is for the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to put caps in place on rate increases. “Currently, there are no limits on how much the utilities can ask for or how many times a year. And there on no limits on how much the CPUC can grant in a rate increase,” Toney said. TURN estimates it's led to people paying 50% more on their bills over the last three years and around around 30% more this year but that number can fluctuate by the month. PG&E says combined gas and electric bills have increased 16% this year.