PG&E proposes another rate increase beginning in 2027, claims bills will stabilize

CBS News

17-05-2025

STOCKTON -- Pacific Gas and Electric has proposed to state regulators another rate increase beginning in 2027 but says customer bills are expected to remain flat.
Don King has owned Fat City Brew & BBQ in Stockton for almost 15 years. For his 3,000-square-foot restaurant, he paid about $7,500 in utility bills just this month.
"PG&E is most expensive right now," King explained. "I mean, it's more in my payroll. It's more than my rent. That's crazy."
PG&E alerted customers on Friday, saying it's asking the California Public Utilities Commission to sign off on a 3.5% annual rate increase from 2027 to 2030.
This, the company says, is the smallest increase in a decade. That would add roughly $126 more each year.
However, with some add-on costs built into rates that are set to expire in 2026, PG&E says bills will actually remain flat in 2027 compared to costs this year.
According to The Utility Reform Network (TURN), there's more to it. Lee Trotman, the director of communications at TURN, says at least 17 pending rate increases that have been sent to the commission are not included in this General Rate Case.
This means your bill could go higher.
"If they say this is going to happen, wait till you get your bill," Trotman said. "That's the proof, right? Did the rates really stabilize, or did they go up? So, and to be honest, customers don't care about the rates. They care about the bill, the total amount of the bill."
With Stockton recently making the switch to Ava Energy, with the promise of 5% lower rates, utility customers are trying to stay hopeful.
"I think that's going to be on this bill that'll be for this current month right now," King added. "We should see how that works for us, and we're looking forward to that 5% that we're supposed to be saving. So, you know, that helps."
CBS Sacramento has reached out to Ava Energy, asking how this will impact Stocktonians.
The company said that since this proposal recently came out, they are doing an analysis of the proposal but still promise that 5% discount.
PG&E says it's trying to stabilize costs as much as possible, but state regulators still have to sign off on these changes.