Stan Lee, Gene Rodenberry, and Me

Originally published on www.kpbs.org Several groups are formally pushing back on San Diego Gas & Electric’s request to raise customer rates by 8.6% in 2028, citing affordability concerns. Under the proposal , an average electric bill would jump about $14 over 2027 estimates, while a natural gas bill would rise about $8. Edward Lopez, executive director of the San Diego-based Utility Consumers’ Action Network, thinks that’s too high. He cited a California Public Utilities Commission report that found SDG&E’s average residential electric rates have already risen 98% over the last decade. “Coming on the heels of the ever-increasing requests, at some point, isn’t enough enough?” Lopez said. “We all feel the pain of these rates. They’re getting out of hand.” About 20% of SDG&E residential customers are at least a month behind on their power bills, according to same report. The Utility Consumers’ Action Network and several other ratepayer advocacy groups filed formal protests against SDG&E’s rate request with the California Public Utilities Commission on Monday. It’s part of a complicated four-year regulatory process, called a general rate case , to determine how much money the utility can collect from customers starting in 2028. Now, organizations “intervening” in the regulatory proceedings on behalf of SDG&E customers are hiring experts to dig into the utility’s thousands of pages of application materials in order to answer some top-line questions. “What is the utility doing? What are they proposing to do more of? Is it reasonable? What are the costs associated with that? Are those costs reasonable?” Lopez said. SDG&E wants to collect about $3.8 billion from customers in 2028, a roughly 8% bump over next year’s estimated revenue requirement. The utility says inflation, rising medical benefit costs and wildfire-related expenses are driving the increase. For SDG&E and other privately-owned utilities in California, shareholder revenue is partially based on the return from infrastructure projects. Malinda Dickenson, executive director of the San Diego-based Protect our Communities Foundation, contends SDG&E could lower its requested rates by prioritizing local power generation. The foundation’s protest filing calls for greater consideration of small-scale solar generation and storage in order to reduce costs tied to hardening grid infrastructure against wildfire risk. “You're not going to need these transmission upgrades and new transmission lines to bring power from faraway places to urban centers where the power’s used,” Dickenson said. “So what Protect our Communities will be doing in this proceeding is presenting alternatives to SDG&E’s heavy capital expenditures.” SDG&E has until July 30 to respond to intervening groups’ protests. In a statement, the utility acknowledged affordability is top of mind for customers. “Our proposal reflects a focused, disciplined plan to keep energy safe and reliable while managing costs responsibly on behalf of the customers and communities we serve,” spokesperson Anthony Wagner said. “We support the transparent regulatory process that allows customers, community members and other stakeholders to provide input as the [California Public Utilities Commission] reviews our request.” The commission’s five voting members will ultimately decide whether to grant or adjust SDGE’s rate request.