Photo by Fré Sonneveld on Unsplash.
PG&E Customers Will See Temporary Decrease in July Electric Bill
June 28, 2024
Customers who have PG&E as their electric service provider may see a temporary decrease in thier electric bill beginning July 1.
In a company press release, PG&E announced this decrease will benefit customers who historically experience extreme summer heat. The release reads, “Residential customers who receive both energy supply and delivery from PG&E will see about a 9% decrease in electric rates through the summer. Customers who receive their energy supply through a Community Choice Aggregation program will see a 7% reduction in PG&E’s delivery service rates. ”
“We are always looking for ways to help make energy service more affordable for customers,” said Vincent Davis, Senior Vice President of Customer Experience. “This is a temporary rate change, but we know it is coming at the right time, especially for customers who live in hotter climates and have higher bills during the summer months.”
Earlier today, PG&E hosted a #customer event where we discussed our readiness for the wildfire season and increased electricity demand. Plus, news on a 9% rate decrease coming in #July to help lower electric bills during the hot #summer months. Replay: https://t.co/KYMvYCnFdW pic.twitter.com/labaLl7jhH
— Pacific Gas & Electric (@PGE4Me) June 26, 2024
ABC10 spoke to PG&E’s Senior Vice President of Local Customer Engagement, Aaron Johnson, who shared his thoughts regarding this program. “We are certainly hearing from customers. I’ve even been hearing from my own family about bills and utility bills in general. We know that customers are struggling with those bills, and we have to do things to reduce them,” Johnson said.
The utility company also tries to help California customers by using Public Safety Power Shutoffs. These customers have sorted regions according to their wildfire risk.
Homes and businesses in Tiers 2 and 3 wildfire risk areas are likelier to experience a PSPS. Tier 2s are areas with an elevated risk of wildfire, and Tier 3s are areas with an extreme risk of wildfire.
The move comes after the California Public Utilities Commission voted in May to allow utility companies, including Pacific Gas and Electric, to add a fixed charge to people’s monthly power bills. The charge will reportedly pay for installing and maintaining the equipment necessary to transmit electricity to homes. This change does not take effect until early 2026.
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