Calif. power company seeks higher rates for energy efficient customers

By Stephen C. Webster
Friday, November 6th, 2009 -- 3:34 pm
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lightbulb Calif. power company seeks higher rates for energy efficient customersThink it's keen to be green? Not if you're California's Pacific Gas & Electric, according to a recent report.

Utility provider PG&E, in documents filed with the state, is seeking a five percent rate increase for its most energy-efficient customers. The increase is reportedly so the company can give it's highest-volume customers a price break.

"[The] company, with profits up 4.6 percent in the third quarter of this year, said they’re just trying to be fair," California blog Mission Local noted.

“It’s necessary to avoid the continued shifting of costs associated with utility services to a limited set of residential customers,” PG&E spokesperson told blogger Heather Duthie.

That "limited set of residential customers" the company refers to are those who use between 131 and 300 percent of average customers, Mission Local added. Under the proposal, they can expect future savings between 2.5 and 5.7 percent on their electric rates.

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Meanwhile, the company is promoting energy efficiency through its residential Web portal, even launching a flash-based renewable energy promotion on the domain wecandothis.com.

If approved by the California Public Utilities Commission, the rate increases for energy efficient users would take effect on Jan. 10, 2010.

The Utility Reform Network, otherwise known to Californians as TURN, filed a protest on Thursday with the utilities commission, objecting to the rate increases.

When PG&E went bankrupt in 2001, the company was carrying over $9 billion in debt and had listed assets of up to $36 billion.

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Story comments are below...
  • luschnig
    Americans are idiots. They put up with all sorts of exploitation. Health insurance companies exploit them; utility companies exploit them; banks exploit them. And all along Americans foolishly think their enemy is Al Qaida. Everyone knows that if they had half a brain and two balls among them they would immediately nationalize the utility companies, institute single payer universal health care, while imposing draconian regulations on the financial industry.
  • roooth
    Utilities used to belong to the communities they were located in - energy was affordable and the tap water was safe. Bonds were sold for improvements, so people could invest - but the utility companies were not for-profit private corporations.

    Like everything else; from hospitals, to prisons, to the military, as soon as the utilities were privatized and deregulated, the pillaging and raping began. Know anyone who drinks unfiltered tap water anymore? We all pay extra to corporations for clean water now AND we pay extra for the utilities.

    When are we going to get it?

    Enron tried to do the same in India and Britain - sell the locals on the idea that privitization would be cheaper and more efficient. They ended up being thrown out when the locals realized what was happening.

    Not us - we've been sold the Great American Pyramid Scheme: corporations must be allowed to grow into behemoths that make 1% wealthier than the other 99% - who must support that 1% or else it's the end of America!

    I'm thinking the whole reason for the teabagger astroturf BS isn't because of health care - it's to convince Americans that letting corporations continue to control EVERYTHING is the American Way, questioning corporations is being sold as unpatriotic.

    Michael Moore is right about capitolism.
  • Wildcat
    Utilities tend to be monopolies -- if they crank your rates up by 500%, what are you gonna do? Go with the competition? The only real alternatives are to live in the dark, which tends to not be an option for most of us, or to get "off the grid", which is a nice idea in theory, but is an expensive undertaking...

    I guess the deregulation that gave Enron it's license to steal has never been corrected. That's shameful.
  • tduffy2
    Well, Judge Green broke up AT&T. Now we have competition in the local, long distance and wireless markets.
  • motorfingaz
    Yes, this nation is sick!
  • mrneutron
    Maybe Californians voting in an ex-steroid-using, ex-bodybuilder, ex-Austrian to be the top Government Executive in their State is kind of a red flag that this democracy, citizenship stuff hasn't really taken root in even the most progressive state in the union.

    Imagine what "citizens" are like in Alabama...
  • Elim
    Right, just like they've done in England.
  • Oh hell no.

    I spent over $20,000 putting solar panels on my roof and getting my home set up to be more efficient to AVOID giving PG&E all my hard-earned money. So they're going to jack up MY prices because I invested in reducing my carbon footprint? They're going to penalize me because I have to give large volume customers like Chevron or AT&T MORE of a fucking discount?

    PG&E, you'd better watch your step here because the enxt one is going to be a fucking doozy.
  • roooth
    You have it exactly right.
  • lousgirl84
    I agree totally. I just posted on this.
  • voreason3
    Basically this is incentivizing waste.

    Insanity.
  • lousgirl84
    This is so fucked. Last year I was so disgusted with my gas bill, I turned off the pilot to my furnace (old and inefficient) and turned off the gas pilot on my stove since I use a counter top convection over to cook. My bill went from $65.00 to $17.00, even though the gas company tried to convince me by turning off the pilot to the furnace and the stove wouldn't save me much.

    So now they don't like the fact that I am on to their scheme, so folks like me who aren't using as much will have to pay more.

    I hate these utility companies
  • piltdown
    Gotta love the corporatocracy.

    Profits get protected. Citizens don't.
  • roooth
    Exactly - and we're being sold on the idea that bucking the corporations is unpatriotic.

    I'm not sure what the answer is besides getting on your local boards - well, and revolution.
  • lousgirl84
    It really sucks. We need to find out who sits on these commissions. i know PG&E is pretty powerful
  • mrneutron
    I hear the PG&E CEO lives in La Jolla, in a well protected home that is nonetheless in a neighborhood known to have sniper fire, arson and random acts of violence.

    Poor guy. So many Americans die every year due to senseless violence.
  • lousgirl84
    LOL!!!!
  • Elim
    For chrisakes, I live in an all electric house, no gas, no propane, new efficient water heater, heat pump, and Milgard windows. We use no hot water or major appliances between noon and 6 pm. My PG$E bill for a 1400 sq. foot house is over $400 a month. I think that is fucking outrageous!
  • lousgirl84
    I feel your pain. It's being pnalized for doing the right thing so the poor big companies who don't don't have to suffer.

    I hate all these bastards.
  • texasaggie
    This is but another example of how other countries, in this case Mexico, are light years ahead of the US. In Mexico there are three levels of electricity use, basic (150 kWh in two months), intermediate (the next 150 kWh in two months), and exceeds (above 300 kWh in two months). The first 150 kWh gets charged at a ridiculously low rate, the next 150 kWh gets charged at about 1.5 times of the first 150 and everything above 300 kWh gets charged at about 2.5 times the intermediate rate. It is an excellent way to get people to turn off lights and disconnect the always-on appliances when they aren't in use.
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