CALIFORNIA, USA — Pacific, Gas and Electric customers may soon see a decrease in their electric bills. PG&E is temporarily reducing electric rates by 9% starting July 1.
The utility made the announcement during a PG&E Summer Readiness Event Wednesday.
PG&E's Senior Vice President of Local Customer Engagement, Aaron Johnson, said it's an important reduction to make now as electric bills tend to be the highest in summer months.
"We are certainly hearing from customers. I've even been hearing from my own family about bills and utility bills in general. We know that customers are struggling with those bills and we have to do things to reduce those bills," Johnson said.
Johnson says the reduction is possible because the utility finished paying off some costs including wildfire protection and prevention as well as rebuilding infrastructure in communities affected by wildfires.
This rate decrease is expected to last for at least a few months, according to PG&E, but there's no exact timeline. ABC10 reached out to PG&E to clarify how long the decrease would be in effect.
This temporary decrease does not mean rates won't increase for a third time this year.
"Our regulator (CPUC) is considering another request to collect costs for similar wildfire prevention and storm response work completed in 2022 and 2023, which could result in a rate increase later this year," a PG&E spokesperson told ABC10.
PG&E says energy use increases during the hot summer months and heat-related outages can occur. There are also Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS), which are planned outages to prevent wildfires.
Savings could be higher for customers living in hotter parts of California, according to PG&E.
How will this rate decrease impact my bill?
An average non-CARE residential electric bill (about 500 kilowatt-hours) was $226.05 as of April 1, according to PG&E. With a 9% decrease, which would be about $20.34, the average bill would be $205.70. This may vary based on usage and hotter temperatures in certain parts of California.
California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE) program is a monthly discount of 20% or more on gas and electricity. Here's how to see if you're eligible for the CARE program.
2024 PG&E Rate Hikes
In March the California Public Utilities Commission approved the second rate hike this year that went into effect in April on top of a rate increase that already went into effect on Jan. 1.
January’s rate increase averaged around $38 a month per customer. PG&E said the April increase was about $3.65 for the average customer. This approximately $40 average increase for customers so far for 2024 is compared to a temporary $20 decrease based on customers' average bills as of April.
In response, lawmakers have pushed back against PG&E rate hikes after the two increases. Rep. Josh Harder introduced the Stop the Rate Hikes Act that would essentially prevent utility companies like PG&E from raising rates more than once per year.
ABC10 reached out to PG&E in May about the hikes to which they insisted they’re temporary rate changes saying “so far in 2024, including the Jan. 1 rate change, typical residential combined gas and electric bills have increased by about $40/month. While prices increased in 2024, we are working to decrease prices in 2025 and 2026.”
Find more information on how to save energy and money HERE. Watch the PG&E's Summer Readiness Event HERE.
Watch more on ABC10 | Extremely high PG&E bills connected to 3 million aging meters | 10 On Your Side
