SAN FRANCISCO — The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) voted unanimously Thursday to allow PG&E to raise rates again.
The change is expected to take effect in April and it follows another rate increase that took effect in January. PG&E says it will be about $3.65 for the average customer.
The 4-0 decision by CPUC commissioners followed hours of public comment but no public discussion before the vote.
Mark Toney, the executive director of The Utility Reform Network or TURN, told KGO the result was disrespectful.
“I think that is disrespectful to customers, and that the commissioners owe it to the customers to explain their vote for yet another increase,” he told KGO.
January’s rate increase averaged around $38 a month per customer and it comes after the utility reported profits of $2.2B in 2023 – about a 25% jump.
“It doesn’t make any sense for PG&E to keep crying poor when the fact is they are more profitable than they’ve ever been in their history. It is not right,” said Toney.
PG&E told KGO the temporary rate change was to recoup part of the money spent on wildfire mitigation projects. They’re looking to get back a maximum of $516 million that’s already been spent on upgrades like undergrounding lines.
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