The California Public Utilities Commission approved a controversial flat charge for customers of large investor-owned utilities like PG&E and Southern California Edison.
The decision means middle and high-income households will pay a fixed electricity rate of $24.15 each month. Low-income households will . Usage rates will drop a few cents as a result of the change.
State legislators ordered the CPUC to establish a fixed rate in 2022. They said it would help pay for grid maintenance while lowering costs for customers.
But critics say it will actually raise those costs. Last year, a group of California legislators , urging them to lower the cost and align it more closely to the national average of $11 for monthly fixed utility rates.
Jenn Engstrom, state director for the advocacy nonprofit California Public Interest Research Group, said the new charge will especially impact customers who want to save money by conserving energy since a smaller proportion of their bill will be based on their usage.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to punish households who use less energy or just live in small homes that use less energy,鈥� Engstrom said. 鈥淎nd it's going to incentivize and actually help people who use a lot of energy or live in large homes that use a lot of energy.鈥�
Kathy Schiffer, a solar user who attended a rally on May 9 protesting the charge in Sacramento, said she鈥檚 already seen PG&E raise costs for customers. She said that as a senior citizen on disability, she鈥檚 worried about paying even more.
鈥淚 have solar on my roof because I wanted to reduce my utility bills,鈥� she said. 鈥淭his is going to [increase] bills for me and renters and people who are lower income.鈥�
Dave Rosenfeld, director of the advocacy nonprofit Solar Rights Alliance, said the Legislature can still change the charge. He said he supports , which would cap the fixed charge at $10 a month.
鈥淚f the Legislature doesn't act, that [charge] is uncapped,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd we know what happens when things are in the hands of the CPUC. That tax is going to keep going up and up and up.鈥�
The new fixed rate will begin to go into effect in late 2025.
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