Pacific Gas and Electric is again asking regulators to let it charge customers more, even as bills in its territory already rank among the highest in the country. The utility argues that another round of increases is needed to harden its grid, reduce wildfire risk and keep investors on board, but critics say California has reached a breaking point and must finally refuse.
At stake is not just one more line item on a monthly bill, but the basic question of who pays for the state’s energy transition and PG&E’s past failures. With proposals that could add $42 a month or more for typical households over the next few years, the fight over this rate case has become a proxy for whether regulators will keep prioritizing the company’s balance sheet over customer survival.
Another rate case, another hit to household budgets
PG&E’s latest request lands on top of a stack of recent increases that have already reshaped what Californians pay for electricity and gas. As part of its current General Rate Case, the company is seeking increases that could add $42 a month to customers’ bills, totaling more than $5 billion in new revenue over several years. Earlier in this cycle, In March, the utility also asked regulators for another bump to residential customer bills by about $5.50 per month, starting as soon as July, on top of hikes already set in 2023, a move that would layer a further $5.50 onto households that have little room left in their budgets for surprises $5.50 per month. For a typical family in PG&E territory, that combination of base rate hikes and surcharges is turning what used to be a seasonal worry into a year round financial strain.
Regulators have already shown a willingness to grant large increases. In Nov, the California Public Utilities Commission approved PG&E’s 2023 to 2026 General Rate Case, a plan that included a 12 percent increase and a new fixed monthly charge that shifts more costs onto the unavoidable part of the bill, regardless of how much energy a customer saves 12% increase. That decision, taken by The California Public Utilities Commission, signaled that the agency is prepared to keep leaning on ratepayers to finance grid upgrades and wildfire mitigation. For customers who have already cut usage, installed efficient appliances or added rooftop solar, the sense now is that there is no obvious way left to dodge the next wave of charges.
PG&E’s case: safety, climate and investor confidence
PG&E insists that the new hikes are not about padding profits but about catching up on decades of underinvestment in a system now facing hotter, drier conditions and more extreme weather. The company has told regulators that Increases in prior rate case applications have been driven by wildfire mitigation work, safety work and inflation, arguing that burying lines, trimming trees and upgrading aging equipment are non negotiable if California wants to avoid more catastrophic fires and blackouts Increases. In public forums, executives have framed the current proposal as part of a long term plan that would adjust rates in stages through 2030, with the heaviest spending front loaded to accelerate risk reduction…