OAKLAND — PG&E is seeking a fresh increase in monthly bills — yet again — for its residential customers, this time to help the utility titan meet demand for new housing, commercial real estate and healthcare projects.
The latest proposal would produce an average increase of $3.65 a month for PG&E residential customers, according to official documents that PG&E filed with the state Public Utilities Commission.
The utility behemoth’s bills have zoomed higher at a pace that’s several times faster than the overall Bay Area inflation rate.
Oakland-based PG&E envisions an array of uses for the additional revenue the proposal would produce, according to the regulatory filing with the PUC, which under California law is supposed to regulate the power company.
The utility hopes the additional revenue will help it eliminate order backlogs, complete customer connections more quickly, improve electricity grid performance and reduce carbon emissions.
PG&E also believes upcoming demand for numerous new projects — at a time when the office, hotel and retail markets have imploded — will further drive the need for additional revenue to complete more connections.
“The capacity work we plan to complete in 2025-2026 with increased funding is necessary for housing projects, electric vehicle charging stations, high-speed rail construction, data centers, internet-order delivery hubs, commercial redevelopment projects, and local infrastructure such as hospitals and water treatment plants,” PG&E stated in the regulatory filing with the state PUC. Amazon centers could be in this group.
PG&E argued in the regulatory filing that all customers would “broadly benefit” from the increase in monthly bills and increased revenue flows.
“Without additional funding, these benefits will either not occur or will be greatly reduced,” PG&E stated in the regulatory filing.
The utility leviathan is seeking to increase previously authorized caps that had been imposed by the PUC on what PG&E could spend on these kinds of projects and endeavors.
In 2023, PG&E’s monthly bills for residential customers soared 22.3%. Over the same 12 months, the Bay Area inflation rate rose 2.6%.
In October, Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, issued an executive order that he hopes will curb skyrocketing electricity bills paid by customers of PG&E and other California utility behemoths.
By happenstance, Gov. Newsom appointed all five members of the state PUC who have approved a string of higher monthly bills for PG&E,. The state Senate, the majority of whose members are Democrats, confirmed all five of the governor’s appointments.
A consumer group blasted this latest quest by PG&E to generate more revenue in a fashion that causes monthly bills to rise.
The Utility Reform Network urged the state PUC to deny PG&E’s request to drive up customers’ bills. TURN estimated that the increase equates to $3 billion in proposed additional spending by PG&E.
TURN also pointed out that in January 2024 the state PUC approved an interim increase in revenue — and monthly bills — to cover an already existing backlog of customer connection requests.
The consumer group criticized a request for more spending on the heels of the interim increase in monthly bills.
“PG&E’s request would add to the burden on ratepayers who are already facing record-high utility costs and affordability challenges,” TURN officials stated.