SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Cynthia Livers first reached out to ABC10 concerned about a big increase in the gas bill for her elderly mom, who lives in a senior living community in Folsom.
“So, my mother came to me, and said that her neighbor was concerned about her PG&E bill because the price went up significantly around the first of the year,” she said.
Cynthia said a third-party gas supplier called her mother, and other PG&E customers, claiming to save them big bucks. She says her mother signed up for one of those offers, and it is now proving to be very costly.
“They’re not saving her any money,” Cynthia said. “It’s costing her 4 and 5 times per month what she was paying as a low-income senior.”
Cynthia showed us her mom’s bills. They still come on the customary PG&E energy statement, but it includes charges from Bolt Energy Services LLC as well as PG&E. The bill's total was more than $100. "On a fixed income when she anticipates a bill being $10 to $20 a month,” Cynthia said.
So, what is exactly is Bolt Energy Services LLC? They are one of several Core Transport Agents (CTAs) who are licensed with the California Public Utilities Commission. PG&E lists many of them on their website and is required to allow customers the choice to buy natural gas from them.
Catherine Sandoval, a former commissioner of the California Public Utilities Commission told us “the idea is to promote competition in the sale of natural gas.”
Sandoval added that even if you sign up with a CTA, it doesn’t take PG&E out of the picture. “It doesn’t take PG&E out of the picture because PG&E is still transporting the gas to you,” Sandoval said. “It also means that you are signing up with a contract for somebody where there is no government entity that is deciding whether the rates are reasonable.”
The CPUC does have a way for you to file complaints about CTAs and Sandoval said there is also has a process to revoke their registration if they are misrepresenting themselves.
“And you can also call the California Attorney General’s office as well,” Sandoval said. “Because there are a number of ways in which especially misrepresentations can violate other California laws.” The number for the AG's office is (800) 952-5225.
BOLT ENERGY Services LLC released this statement confirming, “We are calling all PGE [sic] customers offering them the option to have a third party gas supplier. The only intention that we have is to present the option to the customer. This is completely voluntary.” If you would allow customers to call our customer service line to answer their questions that would be appreciated."
As a result of our questions, PG&E said they had forwarded a description of the incident to their corporate security department to review.
They also told ABC10 ”PG&E does not recommend or endorse individual CTAs. Customers are not required to sign up with a CTA and can continue to receive natural gas from PG&E. It’s your choice.“
