Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) says that its average residential electric rates will increase about 2.6% system-wide this month compared to last January. The utility attributes this increase to higher costs for acquiring renewable energy to meet state mandates, as well as to spending previously approved by the California Public Utilities Commission for operating, maintaining and upgrading PG&E's electric generation and distribution systems.
Customers will likely face another electric rate increase this May of about 2% to pay for additional electric transmission infrastructure to modernize California's power grid and deliver more renewable energy to customers, PG&E adds.
"These revenues help us serve customers by reducing the frequency of electrical outages, improving the responsiveness of our call centers, providing more convenient services and, above all, continuing to upgrade the safety of our gas and electric operations,” says Tom Bottorff, PG&E’s senior vice president of regulatory affairs.
