Cost of staying cool this summer leaves some residents heated

 A state mandated high usage charge was put into effect Nov. 1, 2017 and added to the residen­tial rate structure used by the California Public Utilities Com­mission (CPUC), which is play­ing a role in the higher cost of electric bills this summer.

The high usage charge ap­plies to electricity use that is more than four times the amount of one’s baseline allow­ance. According to the CPUC website, the CPUC “regulates essential services including pri­vately owned electric, natural gas, telecommunications, water, railroad, and passenger trans­portation companies.” California Constitution article XII Public Utilities (Sec. 1) states that the CPUC consists of five members appointed by the governor and approved by the Senate, for six year terms.

According to the SDG&E website, baseline allowance is the amount of electricity al­lotted for basic needs and can vary depending on the season, where you live and what kind of electricity your home has. Generally peak hours during the summer are from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., when electrical costs are the highest because energy is the scarcest, according to the SDG&E website.

SDG&E had methods of creat­ing “general awareness” about the state mandated high us­age charge, according to their Residential Electric Rate Sum­mit Residential Reform update, which can be found on the California Public Utilities Com­mission website under “trans­parency”. Methods included but were not limited to social media, community partner briefings, bill inserts and bill onserts.

According to this update, ap­proximately 146,000 customers were impacted by the high us­age charge as of Nov. 27, 2017. Impacted customers were cat­egorized as impacted based on whether their electrical usage the prior 12 months was at 350% of their baseline or more. As of Nov. 27, 2017 SDG&E also cat­egorized 94,000 customers as “high risk” based on whether their usage the prior 12 months was at 400% of their baseline of more.

Through Nov. 2017, SDG&E received seven customer letters and 250 customer calls regard­ing the high usage charge, ac­cording to the Residential Electric Rate Summit Residen­tial Reform update.

Communications Manager Wes Jones said the high us­age charge and higher sum­mer rates are two factors that explain why people are seeing higher bills. Jones said one way to reduce electric bill costs is SDG&E’s Time of Use plan, which offers savings for custom­ers that can shift some of their energy usage outside of peak hours. More information on Time of Use plans can be found on their website.

“The whole idea is when you use the energy matters the most. It’s really a second way for people to reduce their energy usage,” Jones said.

Bryan Brodsky, 45, is an Al­pine resident that has solar power and said his bill last year during summer was a third of what it is this year.

“Some of the usage thats on our bill now, the times just don’t coincide with real life. Our peak hours are at 1 and 2 a.m. when at most there’s just a TV on some­where,” Brodsky said.

When deciding to install solar panels, Brodsky aimed to save money. He acknowledges that summer usually brings higher bills, but this year the discrep­ancies do not add up.

Terri Whiting, 56, said her monthly electric bill for her household of four adults and three kids went from around $200 to almost $800 recently.

“My concern is, when does this end? How high is it gonna be? The amount of money that we spend just on electrical bill, there’s no way that an elderly person or just a person with a family can afford that,” Whiting said.

According to a California Pub­lic Participation hearing fact sheet, the CPUC is evaluating a 2019 SDG&E rate change pro­posal as of June 2018 (SDG&E General Rate Case A.17-10-007).

SDG&E’s rate change propos­al would increase electric bills by 4.6 percent a month for an average inland residential cus­tomer using 500kwh per month, compared to a 2018 bill. For an average inland residential natu­ral gas customer, bills would in­crease by 22.6 percent when compared to a 2018 bill, accord­ing to the Public Participation Hearing Fact Sheet. Testimony and rebuttal regarding SDG&E’s 2019 General Rate Case can be found on their website.

Discussion regarding high utility bills has been placed on the Alpine Community Plan­ning Group agenda for their regular meeting on Aug. 23. According to their preliminary agenda, the group will discuss resources and support available to people seeking to lower their bills.

According to Alpine Commu­nity Planning Group member Jim Easterling, it is not within the Alpine Community Plan­ning Group’s purview to take action but individuals may do so.