SDG&E has made a request to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to allow them to increase rates.
The proposal asks for an $8.45 increase per month for electricity bills and a $9.16 increase in natural gas rates, with the new rates to start in 2024 and through 2027.
“It’s going to generate $3.6 billion over a four-year period, that’s almost a billion dollars that is going to come out of the pockets of San Diego consumers,” said Alan Gin, the University of San Diego Economic Professor at the Knanuss School of Business.
The rate increase is what SDG&E estimates will cost to upgrade and maintain their power system from 2024 to 2027.
The request comes on the heels of a surge in natural gas prices, where customers reportedly saw skyrocketing bills a few months prior, and the announcement just last week that SDG&E posted profits of $915 million in 2022, an 11.7% increase over 2021, $819 million.
San Diegans are already saddled with the highest electrical rates in the country. So, it’s unclear how this will go down with consumers and the San Diego City Council.
SDG&E wrote in a press release they want to increase rates to be able to continue investing in technologies that advance clean energy and enhance safety, among other upgrades. However, customers will be allowed to voice their opinion before the CPUC makes its decision.
The CPUC regulates SDG&E and will make the final decision on rate changes. The budget request is part of the General Rate Cases filed every four years with the utilities commission.
Even thought the rate plan will include programs for low-earning customers, Proffessor Gin argues higher rates take money out of the local economy.
Click here to view information on the public forums held for SDGE’s general rate case.
The first hearing, which will be held remotely, is set to take place on Monday at 6 p.m.
Chief news source: Fox5 San Diego
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Fuck you SDG&E.
Gee, wouldn’t have anything to do with this, would it?
https://energycentral.com/news/countys-climate-plan-favors-utility-scale-solar-new-lawsuit-says-think-tank-behind-it-hid
Per a friend whom I agree with: Essentially, at issue is the fact that UCSD David Victor did not disclose that our local utility (and Edison partner), San Diego Gas & Electric, gave Dr. Victor’s department $900,000.00. From what we gather, professor Victor actively discouraged the County from the development of rooftop solar because it is not in the financial interests of his client, SDG&E. Apparently, SDG&E wants to build out more of its solar and wind farms in the desert because they will make a PUC guaranteed profit from building the infrastructure (in addition to controlling the supply).
Here is the link to the lawsuit: https://tinyurl.com/bddfsuf4.
As someone who has invested in rooftop solar in one the sunniest areas year round in our nation, it’s disgusting what SDG&E (and PG&E) is doing via CPUC to disincentivize regular people trying to lessen their family’s carbon footprint. That SDG&E and Sempra did not invest in the future, in renewables long ago like many other countries, is revealed by their last ditch efforts to renew decrepit Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant and to make solar customers pay more than most zip codes in the US. What a scam! What an embarrassment of gluttony by shareholders of SDG&E.
Monopoly much?
Something that is left unsaid in most discussions of the proposed rate increases and the push to inhibit the greater use of rooftop solar is that SDG&E doesn’t really make money from providing electricity. The primary source of income for utilities in California comes from the construction of capital improvement, i.e, new energy facilities. Under the existing PUC regulations, the biggest money maker for utilities is the GUARANTEED return on investment in new facilities. I believe it is 7%. So, does SDG&E want to discourage homeowners from installing rooftop solar, or does it want to make money from new capital improvements? Something needs to change.
As someone who has invested in solar in decidedly NOT one of the sunniest areas of the country (a 7kw Kyocera 125 panel passive system) that I have to climb up and clear off after every snowstorm, it boggles my mind that the roofs of San Diego aren’t completely covered with panels. It’s all about shareholder profits and golden parachutes?
Maybe add a requirement that if this gets passed, not a single penny of this rate increase can be used for stock buy-backs, stock investments in other companies, shareholder pay-out increases nor CEO and Board of Directors wages but instead ALL of it will be put back into fixing the aging infrastructure?
Here’s one to read. Could this be happening in San Diego? Would it surprise you?
https://grist.org/politics/ohio-bribery-scandal-larry-householder-verdict/
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sealintheSelkirks
Homeowners, you have options.
Look into California Power Purchase programs. The rates are not going to stop increasing. There are solar options available to you. No cost for installation, a simple switch of the utility bill. Text me at (619) 415-5893 and we can draft you a consumption report.