SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A Sacramento woman said she couldn't believe how much her PG&E bill jumped in just the span of a month.
“I wouldn’t have minded so much even if it was $100, but $441 from paying no more than $60,” said Cheryl Weston.
Cheryl Weston owns CW Barber Lounge and is still working to recover from the challenges of the pandemic, so when her home bill went from $24 to $441 in one month she was shocked.
“This is why I reached out to you and Channel 10 because not only myself but a lot of my clients and other residents have an experienced a high increase in their PG&E bills,” she said.
She said PG&E says her energy usage has increased 300% from year to year.
“Nothing in my house or my lifestyle has changed. I have one gas stove and a water heater, and I’m single person with a dog, unless Dallas is in here taking showers,” said Weston.
In response to an inquiry from PG&E, PG&E said the customer’s meter needed to be changed out. As a result, they estimated her charges from Oct. 10, 2022 to Feb. 9, 2023, which was noted on her billing statement.
PG&E said once the module was replaced, the corrected charges appeared on the customer’s Feb. 13 statement, covering the four months of charges.
"We understand that the February statement may have been a surprise, even though it accurately reflected the charges," PG&E said in a statement.
They are charges Weston said she's now concerned about covering.
"I might have to have a GoFundMe," said Weston.
Ed Hirs is an energy fellow at the University of Houston.
"It's not just California, natural gas pricing costs for residential and commercial users across the nation is much higher," said Hirs.
"The wholesale price has gone up simply because there's been increased demand brought on by cold in December. And of course, there are not enough supply points to get natural gas to California to keep the price down," he added.
PG&E said they plan to perform a gas appliance safety check to make sure there isn't an appliance leak. They also promised to work with Weston, saying they are always willing to work with customers on payment plans as needed.
A full statement from PG&E is available below.
Several factors contributed to the increase in the customer’s billing statements between January and February. The customer’s meter needed to be changed out. As a result, we estimated her charges from 10/10/22 to 2/9/23, which was noted on her billing statement. The California Public Utilities Commission recognizes that there are occasions when we need to estimate. If, for example, the battery of a meter needs to be replaced, we don’t receive the customer’s usage, then PG&E will estimate the bill using the customer’s prior usage.
Once the module was replaced on 1/27/23, the estimated billing was canceled and the customer was re-billed for the actual charges for usage from 10/10/22 to 2/9/23. These corrected charges appeared on the customer’s 2/13/23 statement, covering the four months of charges. We understand that the Feb. statement may have been a surprise, even though it accurately reflected the charges.
As we’ve reviewed the customer’s bill, her actual daily usage increased over 300% from Oct. 2021-Feb. 2022 compared to Oct. 2022 to Feb. 2023. That can occur for various reasons, including greater usage, or also if there is an appliance lead. PG&E will perform a gas appliance safety check for the customer to make sure that there isn’t an appliance leak contributing to the increased usage, and follow up with the customers.
We will work with the customer to determine if she’s eligible for any income-eligible discount or other programs, and are always willing to work with our customers on payment plans as needed.
Additionally, higher natural gas prices were sustained on the West Coast from November 2022 to Jan. 2023, driving up customers’ energy bills. PG&E does not control the market prices for gas or electricity, and does not mark up the cost of the gas and electricity we purchase to serve our customers.
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