On Monday, Feb. 6, the San Diego City Council felt the public’s pushback on skyrocketing bills and record levels of natural gas prices being charged by SDG&E.
Half a dozen different organizations held a press conference outside City Hall and called on the Council to hold public hearings on the January rate hike SDG&E customers saw on their bill.
The groups say the City Council should conduct hearings because the city of San Diego in 2021 signed a 20-year franchise agreement with SDG&E that retains the utility as the exclusive provider of electric and gas services within the city limits.
“As far as we can tell, there’s not been a serious examination of what happened,” said Craig Rose of Public Power San Diego. “We don’t have a lot of answers. We’ve got a bunch of questions and … we think it’s incumbent on the City Council to ask those questions.”
Despite all of SDG&E’s claims of why the increase happened, the groups calling for City Council hearings say the increase in Southern California is higher than in other areas. The organizations calling for City Council hearings include Public Power of San Diego, the Protect Our Communities Foundation, Democratic Socialists of America, SanDiego350, Hillcrest Indivisible and the Utility Consumers Action Network.
Around the same time, a group of a dozen outraged utility customers demonstrated with signs outside the headquarters of San Diego Gas & Electric in Kearney Mesa. They say the sticker shock of their bills made them mobilize to vent their frustrations.
Back at City Hall, Public Power of San Diego delivered letters to council members, demanding they take action. The group claimed SDG&E’s explanation for the bill increase doesn’t add up.
Craig Rose explained:
“SDG&E has said 90 percent of the gas hike, which is $120 per family and $100 million total, they said 90 percent of the problem was the spot, the commodity price, of gas. Well, we have many questions about relying on spot prices. We also surveyed utilities around the west coast, and no utility imposed a rate hike as high as SDGE’s.”
According to Rose, the rate hike was 114%.
Rose said they want the public, SDG&E, and independent outside experts to participate in these public hearings. A spokesperson with SDG&E said they explained the January spike to council members during the January 19th council meeting.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
SDG&E just wants a lot of money.
On my recent bill this black octopus of corporate greed charged about
$25 bucks for electricity, and that same oozing pus of corporate diarrhea
charged about $135 to transport that power. Shit, put the freakin’ electricity in an Uber on a daily basis, it would be cheaper.
Oh, and that malodorus tub of necrotizing fasciitis is requesting another rate hike.
They just want a lot of money.
What are expectations for future months. The rates are an absolute mystery
As designed.