PG&E Wants To Increase Rates +/- $250/Year/Household, Boost Profit Margin 60% W. PUC Request
PG&E asked California regulators Monday for a hefty increase in rates and profits, raising average customer bills by more than $20 a month, saying the hike is needed to attract investment capital and deal with wildfire safety as the utility struggles in bankruptcy. Along with an earlier rate increase proposed in December, PG&’s new request would increase average household bills by $22.67 a month for electricity and natural gas, beginning in January 2020.
PG&E and California’s other major utilities, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric, asked the Public Utilities Commission for fatter profit margins, seeing they need to offer investors a much higher return to compensate for the financial perils of major wildfires. The requests, which must be made every three years, come as Gov. Gavin Newsom and other state officials wrestle with PG&E’s bankruptcy and the financial health of utilities generally.
Utilities rarely get everything they want when they ask regulators for higher rates, and Monday’s request by PG&E in particular is almost certain to provoke a strong backlash from lawmakers in light of PG&E’s unpopularity over the deadly wildfires of 2017 and 2018. As it is, SB 549 by state Sen. Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, would give the Legislature a say in authorizing rate increases for PG&E.
Mark Toney, of The Utility Reform Network consumer advocacy group, called PG&E’s request “outrageous.” “It’s like PG&E is looking for bailouts under any rock they can find,” Toney said. “That is just a stunning amount.”
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