by Katy Grimes, E&E Legal Senior Media Fellow and California Globe Editor
As Appearing in the California Globe
PG&E rates up 92% in less than 10 years
We don’t hear much about California’s “decarbonization work,” the state’s and California Public Utility Commission’s flawed scheme to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. But we see the painful results in our monthly electricity bills.
The Public Advocates Office at the California Public Utilities Commission, published a new report which found PG&E residential electricity prices are more than double the national average. The report also found PG&E rates have gone up 92% in less than 10 years. And PG&E is back at the CPUC asking for even higher rates.
For current electricity rates, the report found that the residential electricity rates went up 38% from Jan. 2021 to Sept. 2023.
And driving home just how painful these electricity rates are, these residential rate increases far exceed inflation, which is regularly underreported.
The CPUC Public Advocates attribute these monstrous electricity rate increases to wildfire mitigation costs and solar subsidies.
Perhaps the only good news in the report is that these high electricity prices hinder clean energy transition and electric vehicle adoption.
