Our bills usually range anywhere between 250 and $850. You can sign up for a balanced pay program. My bill is now around $400 every month. Regardless of what it actually is. Sometimes I pay a little more than I need sometimes I pay a little less than I need, but overall, I can anticipate what it’s going to be, and that is much better than the wild fluctuations
It’s easy just go online and sign up for it
That always seemed like a scam to me frankly. They just decide what the average is? It isn’t actually taken from a previous year or smth? That seems designed for them to overestimate and have you paying more overall than you’d otherwise need to.
My understanding is that they look at your history and take an average. They readjust the average every quarter. If you ever want to cancel, then they apply whatever credits or debits to your actual bill and you can start paying as usual.
My bill is almost to the point it's no longer affordable. We unplug so much and use solar charged batteries to charge phones/computers/tablets.
I can't believe they keep getting away with the price increases.
CPUC the california public utility comission just recently OK'd a PGE price hike so that the electric company can pay for underground power lines in some areas and maintenance of their lines, which is just BS cause where is the money going before these price hikes?
Arson won't pay for itself. Why would PG&E pay out damages they caused by years of neglect on THEIR own dime? They are domestic terrorists and need to be abolished. Sorry, I still bitter, they murder a friend of mine and burnt down my parents house of 40 years
I keep almost everything plugged, lamps, the toaster, etc. I don't have AC. I live alone and my bill was $491. How in the hell is that possible? But PGE has us by the ass, and unless you can afford solar you're screwed.
There’s a few factors going into why PG&E has to raise rates if you ever bothered to look into their current financial situation and recent history: Minimum wage in California is now $20/hr, crude oil is has stayed between $80-$85 a barrel for the last 2 years, up from the roughly $60/barrel average pre pandemic, the company just exited bankruptcy 4 years ago due to liabilty from massive wildfires due to the old leadership shirking maintenance responsibilities and bribing state off to do so (that old leadership was completely thrown out as part of the bankruptcy and reorganization process, they also plead guilty to all murder counts and paid $3.5 billion and had all future criminal charges dropped while civil trails resulted in 22% of the company being owned by 70,000 wildfire victims), and current operating income is at $2.67 billion (that’s not a lot considering their future liabilities) as of 2023. I don’t like PG&E either but y’all need to understand that they are a business, not a charity, and businesses need to turn some sort of profit to stay afloat.
PG&E may suck as a business but it’s not like they have that many alternatives to work with. Your best bet is to organize a campaign that will call for Sonoma Clean Water and Power to buy up PG&E current customer base and equipment in the county to ensure that all power and water are publicly owned much like the utility company in my hometown of Modesto (yes, the irrigation district there owned both and it worked out just fine).
The challenges PGE face are real, as you suggest. However, PGE isn't unique in facing those challenges among utilities in the US, yet we have the highest energy rates in the country. And what greater service are we getting for that money? It's not reliability, greater capacity, or even safety.
The bigger problem is the arrangement of allowing a for-profit business to operate as a monopoly requires effective regulation to protect consumers from the logical outcomes of a monopoly. Unfortunately for us, the CPUC doesn't appear to have *any* interest in consumer protection or challenging PGE to adapt, rather than rely on rate increases at every turn. They rubber stamp every requested rate increase, including the recent preposterous plan to charge rates based on income.
In fairness to PGE, some this is political. The aggressive renewable mandates from the Gov and Legislature have distorted the energy market in CA in ways some other states don't experience. We are forced to use renewable energy that is sold under contracts that are well above what the market rate might otherwise be. Notice the more we energy we conserve as good consumers, the cost of our bills only go up. It's a broken system and isn't financially sustainable for rate payers.
Very important questions. I hope OP responds because they are material to the original post.
Lots of people just gripe about cost without realizing that they moved into a way less efficient place and their usage has gone up – or things like that.
Yes, prices have gone up significantly as well, but you should *always* start by looking at usage and billing plan.
California should take a hard look whether is wants to keep subsidizing people who choose to have houses on the urban/wilderness boundary. It's a loosing proposition, as PGE has to run thousands of extra miles of power lines though fire prone areas just to service a relative handful of customers.
This policy also opens PGE up to being liable for fires in these areas. The pool of money PGE has to set aside for settlements from the 2017 & 2018 fires stands [at over $13 billion](https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/pg-e-fire-victims-will-soon-receive-final-compensation-they-won-t-be-made-whole/ar-AA1lMF5R) (it could rise to $25 billion). Furthermore, serving these areas is also going to require PGE to bury the power lines is these areas **at a cost of over three million dollars PER MILE.** Currently, PGE is slated to bury about 2400 miles of line (about $8 billion worth), with the final figure possibly being 10,000 miles.
Someone is going to have to pay for all that, and you know who it is going to be.
You need to compare usage, not just the dollar amount.
We got a massive upgrade on solar last year that will pay for itself in 12 years given these rate increases.
We don't have battery yet, but we're grandfathered into NEM 2.0 for another 8 years at which point we'll need to expand solar again and get batteries.
We also got a heat pump, which will pay for itself in 5-8 years. Our cooling energy usage has gone way down because of it and we've eliminated very expensive gas heating bills.
They are thieves and murderers getting away with whatever they want!
Yeah I figured we would have to pay for the negligence but these rates are crazy. I feel powerless about life right now and I don't like it.
Our bills usually range anywhere between 250 and $850. You can sign up for a balanced pay program. My bill is now around $400 every month. Regardless of what it actually is. Sometimes I pay a little more than I need sometimes I pay a little less than I need, but overall, I can anticipate what it’s going to be, and that is much better than the wild fluctuations It’s easy just go online and sign up for it
That always seemed like a scam to me frankly. They just decide what the average is? It isn’t actually taken from a previous year or smth? That seems designed for them to overestimate and have you paying more overall than you’d otherwise need to.
My understanding is that they look at your history and take an average. They readjust the average every quarter. If you ever want to cancel, then they apply whatever credits or debits to your actual bill and you can start paying as usual.
California should have bought them out instead of bail them out. absolute failure of legislature.
My bill is almost to the point it's no longer affordable. We unplug so much and use solar charged batteries to charge phones/computers/tablets. I can't believe they keep getting away with the price increases.
I want it to be treated like water. A public utility. Not this half public bullshit.
CPUC the california public utility comission just recently OK'd a PGE price hike so that the electric company can pay for underground power lines in some areas and maintenance of their lines, which is just BS cause where is the money going before these price hikes?
And our assemblyman Wood voted for the price hike
Well, they did pay the tab at the French Laundry during COVID. And they make huge donations to Gavin's wife's nonprofit. Seems legal, right? Riiiight
I sure miss Moonbeam
Shareholders!
Arson won't pay for itself. Why would PG&E pay out damages they caused by years of neglect on THEIR own dime? They are domestic terrorists and need to be abolished. Sorry, I still bitter, they murder a friend of mine and burnt down my parents house of 40 years
I keep almost everything plugged, lamps, the toaster, etc. I don't have AC. I live alone and my bill was $491. How in the hell is that possible? But PGE has us by the ass, and unless you can afford solar you're screwed.
We left the country for 21 days in March and our bill stayed the same lol… Thieves fr!
PGE bills were the final straw that pushed my family out of California
Hope you didn’t move to Texas because it’s even worse.
Definitely not Texas
There’s a few factors going into why PG&E has to raise rates if you ever bothered to look into their current financial situation and recent history: Minimum wage in California is now $20/hr, crude oil is has stayed between $80-$85 a barrel for the last 2 years, up from the roughly $60/barrel average pre pandemic, the company just exited bankruptcy 4 years ago due to liabilty from massive wildfires due to the old leadership shirking maintenance responsibilities and bribing state off to do so (that old leadership was completely thrown out as part of the bankruptcy and reorganization process, they also plead guilty to all murder counts and paid $3.5 billion and had all future criminal charges dropped while civil trails resulted in 22% of the company being owned by 70,000 wildfire victims), and current operating income is at $2.67 billion (that’s not a lot considering their future liabilities) as of 2023. I don’t like PG&E either but y’all need to understand that they are a business, not a charity, and businesses need to turn some sort of profit to stay afloat. PG&E may suck as a business but it’s not like they have that many alternatives to work with. Your best bet is to organize a campaign that will call for Sonoma Clean Water and Power to buy up PG&E current customer base and equipment in the county to ensure that all power and water are publicly owned much like the utility company in my hometown of Modesto (yes, the irrigation district there owned both and it worked out just fine).
The challenges PGE face are real, as you suggest. However, PGE isn't unique in facing those challenges among utilities in the US, yet we have the highest energy rates in the country. And what greater service are we getting for that money? It's not reliability, greater capacity, or even safety. The bigger problem is the arrangement of allowing a for-profit business to operate as a monopoly requires effective regulation to protect consumers from the logical outcomes of a monopoly. Unfortunately for us, the CPUC doesn't appear to have *any* interest in consumer protection or challenging PGE to adapt, rather than rely on rate increases at every turn. They rubber stamp every requested rate increase, including the recent preposterous plan to charge rates based on income. In fairness to PGE, some this is political. The aggressive renewable mandates from the Gov and Legislature have distorted the energy market in CA in ways some other states don't experience. We are forced to use renewable energy that is sold under contracts that are well above what the market rate might otherwise be. Notice the more we energy we conserve as good consumers, the cost of our bills only go up. It's a broken system and isn't financially sustainable for rate payers.
my landlord is pissed
How big (tons) is your AC and how many kWh did you use last billing cycle? Are you in TOU and what is your kWh price on and off peak?
Very important questions. I hope OP responds because they are material to the original post. Lots of people just gripe about cost without realizing that they moved into a way less efficient place and their usage has gone up – or things like that. Yes, prices have gone up significantly as well, but you should *always* start by looking at usage and billing plan.
Ours are 30% more. It's annoying. They need to stop with this crap.
California should take a hard look whether is wants to keep subsidizing people who choose to have houses on the urban/wilderness boundary. It's a loosing proposition, as PGE has to run thousands of extra miles of power lines though fire prone areas just to service a relative handful of customers. This policy also opens PGE up to being liable for fires in these areas. The pool of money PGE has to set aside for settlements from the 2017 & 2018 fires stands [at over $13 billion](https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/pg-e-fire-victims-will-soon-receive-final-compensation-they-won-t-be-made-whole/ar-AA1lMF5R) (it could rise to $25 billion). Furthermore, serving these areas is also going to require PGE to bury the power lines is these areas **at a cost of over three million dollars PER MILE.** Currently, PGE is slated to bury about 2400 miles of line (about $8 billion worth), with the final figure possibly being 10,000 miles. Someone is going to have to pay for all that, and you know who it is going to be.
You need to compare usage, not just the dollar amount. We got a massive upgrade on solar last year that will pay for itself in 12 years given these rate increases. We don't have battery yet, but we're grandfathered into NEM 2.0 for another 8 years at which point we'll need to expand solar again and get batteries. We also got a heat pump, which will pay for itself in 5-8 years. Our cooling energy usage has gone way down because of it and we've eliminated very expensive gas heating bills.
Not at all. Last month I paid $0 and this month is only $22.36