Dozens of demonstrators gathered in front of the Rady Shell, Monday, Feb. 2, protesting the high electrical rates of San Diego Gas and Electric. It was held outside of DTECH, an annual meeting that bills itself as the largest gathering of utility professionals in the country.
One of the speakers at the meeting’s keynote session at the Rady Shell was none other than SDG&E President Scott Crider.
The protesters, from a number of environmental and community groups, pressed the utility of its high rates, a sore spot among San Diegans who have made their complaints louder lately. A big reason — SDG&E’s plan to increase rates again, which could make San Diego one of, if not the most, expensive cities when it comes to utility rates.
The U-T reported:
According to the California Legislative Analyst’s Office, average rates for SDG&E, Pacific Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison increased between 48% and 67% from 2019 through 2023. A blog post in 2023 by the Haas Energy Institute at UC Berkeley reported SDG&E had the highest electricity rate in California. …
SDG&E earned a $891 million in 2024, according to filings submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in the first quarter of 2025 by Sempra, SDG&E’s parent company.
Some of the protesters were quoted. Barbara Pinto, a Logan Heights resident and member of the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment said:
“I have witnessed increasing rates for decades. It is appalling that San Diego Gas & Electric can continue to make millions of dollars of profit every year off the backs of our communities.”
Born in San Diego in 1947, Barbara said holding onto her hometown gets harder and harder every year. “I hope that they will have a heart, and they will realize that we all need somewhere to live and we all need to pay our bills, have some compassion for the average man,” she said.
Lisa Eyler, UC San Diego psychiatry professor and a member of the SanDiego350 environmental organization, stated:
“SDG&E keeps squeezing and squeezing, lobbying for every bit of profit they can eke out of us.”.
“Year after year, they keep raising rates and they don’t stop,” said Parke Troutman.
The utility responded to the protest:
“At SDG&E, we work every day to manage our costs and develop programs and tools that help keep energy more affordable and accessible. We know that any change in energy costs makes a difference to our customers, and we work to keep bills as low as possible while continuing to deliver the safe, reliable energy that families and businesses across Southern California depend upon every day.”
In contrast to customers’ and protesters’ complaints, SDG&E says they are one of the most reliable utilities, with a major focus on wildfire prevention, making operations more expensive.
The claim is that one of the big drivers of high rates in California has been from investor-owned utilities expenses related to helping prevent their equipment from sparking wildfires. According to SDG&E it has spent roughly $6 billion in ratepayer funds on such efforts since the devastating Witch Creek, Guejito and Rice wildfires in 2007. Since then, the San Diego area has not experienced a similar catastrophic fire.
Crider said:
“We had a catastrophic wildfire in 2007 caused by our utility equipment and we created an ethos from that moment forward, our ethos is, ‘never again.'”
As with any claim by a corporation or politician, seeing is believing. Customers “open” their utility bills every month and they know what has been going on, and they’ve watched reports of all the fires in the state. And they’ve noted what the causes of those fires have been.
If a corporation knows its product is dangerous and causes harm, it has a duty to mitigate that harm — even if it has to cut into its profits and investor dividends without pushing the higher costs onto its customers.
SDGE raised prices at the beginning of the year and is planning on raising rates again in April.
News sources: SD Union-Tribune , Fox5
Gee, and who can remediate? Someone needs to nudge the watchdog and check for rigormortis.
The CPUC (California Public Utilities Commission) regulates privately-owned utility companies in California, ensuring safe, reliable, and affordable services for electricity, natural gas, water, telecom, and transportation (like rideshare, limos, movers) by setting rates, overseeing operations, protecting consumers, and advancing state energy/environmental goals. Essentially, they act as a watchdog for utility customers, balancing utility business needs with public interest, including safety and fair access.
We need to kick out SDG&E and let the city or county take over.