Energy Rate Watch

Gas and electric energy rates are skyrocketing in California, harming residents, business, as well as farming and food production operations. 

California’s already expensive energy rates are continuing to rise with massive new rate increases proposed by the State’s investor-owned utilities. 

Surging electricity and natural gas prices for the state’s major investor-owned utilities have already reached levels that are more than double the national average and will soon reach levels that are three to four times higher than the rest of the country. Rates are also rising far faster than inflation driven by clean energy and electrification mandates as well as wildfire mitigation. These out-of-control energy cost impacts are straining the budgets of vulnerable, low-income households and fixed-income seniors, while causing further increases to the costs of everything from food, to fuel and many other consumer goods and services. 

AS RATES RISE, UTILITY PROFITS SOAR 

  • The state’s transition to cleaner energy is costing Californians billions. While inflation has risen 17% in the last three years, Pacific Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison customers have seen their bills rise by a whopping 51% and over 10 years, 110% and 90% respectively. San Diego Gas & Electric rates have increased more than 105%.
  • SDG&E made a record-breaking $936 million in profits in 2023, up $21 million from previous year.  
  • In the first quarter of 2024 alone, PG&E announced a $163 million increase in profits, 28% higher than 2023.
  • PG&E has been sidestepping cost-effective and risk-reducing wildfire mitigation options in favor of costly “undergrounding”, which allows the company to raise customer rates even more to recoup costs and boost their profits. 
  • Regulators approved five separate rate increases for PG&E customers in 2024.

Bottom line: California will face a crisis if policymakers want residents to swap gasoline-fueled cars and natural gas appliances for electric models.

“Mandating electrification when you’re charging people 30 or 40 cents a kilowatt-hour is going to be immensely expensive.”

Severin Borenstein, UC Berkley Haas School of Business Energy Institute

Visit the pages below for more on our efforts to combat skyrocketing rates.