CA Public Utilities Commission Passes New Rate Hike Scheme

California has some of the highest electricity rates in the country.

In April 2023 the Globe reported that Southern California Edison, Pacific Gas & Electric and San Diego Gas & Electric filed a proposal to create income-based utility billing.

The Legislature and Governor approved this scheme through AB 205, which was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in June of 2022 claiming it was needed because the wild swings in utility prices that California experiences.

Outrage from ratepayers and politicians across the state was swift, and eventually the plan was shelved – It is an election year after all. So naturally, a bipartisan effort to backtrack on the income-based utility rates was initiated.

But that didn’t end the scheming. The California Public Utilities Commission just approved a new scheme – and it won’t make Democrats or Gov. Newsom look more electable.

ABC 30 reports:

The California Public Utilities Commission voted to let the state’s big investor-owned utilities – including Pacific Gas & Electric – add a fixed charge of $24.13 per month to people’s power bills each month to pay for installing and maintaining the equipment necessary to transmit electricity to homes.

Others with lower incomes who are enrolled in one of two discount programs will pay less, either $6 or $12 per month.

In exchange for the new charge, the price of electricity will drop by between 5 cents and 7 cents per kilowatt hour.

However, this scheme will actually benefit those who use more household electricity and discourage conservation.

Here are the CPUC Commissioners who made this decision – all appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom:

Take special note of CPUC President Alice Busching Reynolds – she’s a radical environmentalist who worked for Gov. Jerry Brown and Gov. Newsom as a “climate advisor”:

President Reynolds served for three years as Governor Gavin Newsom’s senior advisor for energy. From 2011 to January 2019, she served in the administration of Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr., most recently as the Governor’s senior advisor for climate, the environment and energy and previously as chief counsel and deputy secretary for law enforcement at the California Environmental Protection Agency. During her time at CalEPA, she coordinated statewide multi-agency environmental enforcement actions and led the creation of the agency’s environmental justice task force and refinery safety task force.

Commissioner Houck “has expertise in matters concerning environmental equity, nuclear energy regulation…”

Commissioner Reynolds served as Managing Counsel at Cruise LLC since 2019. Prior to that, he held multiple positions at the CPUC.

Commissioner Douglas was Director of the California Climate Initiative for the Environmental Defense Fund.

Commissioner Baker  “has demonstrated a keen awareness of the delicate balance required to address the challenges posed by a changing climate.  As we continue to face new and greater risks to our energy systems, Commissioner Baker’s expertise will be instrumental in guiding our efforts toward safe, reliable, and affordable solutions.”

“This latest action by Newsom’s appointees will make it even worse for struggling families, saddling them with nearly $300 annually in fixed charges,” Senate Republicans said Thursday.

Here’s the breakdown:

• households with one or two individuals earning below $39,440 will see a $6 monthly increase;
• households earning between $39,440 and $62,150 will face a $12 monthly charge;
• individuals making $62,150 or more will be saddled with a monthly fee of $24.50.

Ironically, “Using more electricity has strained the state’s supply,” ABC 30 said. “In the summer of 2020, demand for electricity was so high that the officials had to order rolling blackouts to make sure the state didn’t run out of energy.”

California’s politicians and unelected agency leaders are continuing to limit energy sources rather than using an all-of-the-above approach to energy production in California: Oil, gas, coal, nuclear, hydroelectric, solar and wind. despite that California is rich in natural resources which once powered the state: natural gas deposits in the Monterey Shale formation; geothermal energy, abundant rivers and waterways such as the San Joaquin River Delta and hydroelectric dams; the Pacific coastline; 85 million acres of wildlands with 17 million of those used as commercial timberland; and mines and mineral resources.

If all we are allowed to use is renewable energy for electricity production – a deliberate energy shortage – statewide shortages and rolling blackouts inevitably become the new California normal. “We are being conditioned to accept this as normal by some very evil leaders,” the Globe reported last year.

Californians have been forced into using more electricity because of the Legislature’s and Governor’s policies – and in particular, the mandate to make the state all-electric by 2045 via Newsom’s policy eliminating the sale of new gas powered vehicles by 2035 to help meet 2045 zero carbon climate goals.

Currently, utility bills are based on electricity and gas consumption. But now, many Californians are already paying tiered electricity rates between 4:00pm and 8:00pm.  The Sacramento Municipal Utility District started a new rate system in 2019 that charges residential users higher rates between 5:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. (now it’s 4-8pm) — just in time for everyone to arrive home after work and begin evening family rituals.

“From the start, this proposal was poorly constructed and flawed – this fixed rate is uncapped and discourages energy conservation because even if you are energy conscious, you’re still hit with a $24 charge,” said Senate Republican Caucus Chair Kelly Seyarto (R-Murrieta).“All this does is put a bigger burden on working families that are already dealing with the repercussions of unrealistic energy policies that make California unaffordable.”

Senate Republicans sent a letter to CPUC Commissioners earlier this week expressing disbelief and outrage:

“Beyond its excessive nature, the concept of a fixed charge is inherently flawed. First, it contradicts the principles of fair pricing and consumer protection. Customers should primarily pay for the electricity they use, plain and simple. Furthermore, the fixed charge discourages energy conservation, as customers will be forced to pay $24.15 extra, regardless of their energy use. When consumers are forced to pay hundreds of dollars more each year regardless of usage, they are going to use it more freely. This botched
billing scheme takes away a major incentive to conserve energy, directly conflicting with
California’s energy goals.”

Senate Republicans introduced Senate Bill 1326, “The Cost of Living Reduction Act”, which would have immediately repealed the unfair law imposing this uncapped charge. Thousands of Californians across the state signed the petition in support of the measure. Additionally, 20 Democrats from both houses introduced Assembly Bill 1999, a similar measure to repeal the charge. Despite the bipartisan nature of these efforts, Democrat Leadership killed both measures.

The bottom line, and real goal of the radical environmentalists is to make electricity so expensive, homeowners will be forced to initiate self-blackouts of electric appliances during certain times of day, and electric car owners won’t be able to afford the high costs to keep them charged.

Environmentalists have no special love for electric cars – they just want everyone out of cars. So if they can make electricity so expensive that people can’t afford to drive electric cars, well then good.

Families in my district and around the state are struggling to buy food, pay their bills, and fill up their gas tank to get to work,” said Senator Brian Dahle (R-Bieber), Vice Chair of the Senate Energy, Utilities, and Communications Committee. “Now, Newsom’s appointees are adding another $300 to families’ already stretched budgets. Unbelievable!”