SACRAMENTO – Energy accountability campaign Re-Volt announced today it will supply the California Public Utilities Commission’s members with new rubber stamps before they get ready to approve Pacific Gas & Electric Company’s latest utility bill rate hike.
The five commissioners are notorious for green-lighting reckless rate increases and spending plans by PG&E and the state’s two other investor-owned power companies. Instead of acting as a needed check on utilities to protect ratepayers, the CPUC approves the companies’ plans with no pushback.
“It’s clear the CPUC believes ‘rubber-stamping rate hikes’ is the first line of their job description,” said Bernadette Del Chiaro, the Environmental Working Group’s senior vice president for California. “Their stamps are almost certainly worn to nubs, the ink pads are bone dry, while Californians are left footing the bill. We figured they could use a fresh set.”
Re-Volt is a project of EWG that campaigns for energy accountability and transparency. Re-Volt is calling on state lawmakers to act in ratepayers’ interests by ending the automatic approval of misguided utility planning and instead promoting safe, clean, affordable energy like solar.
PG&E recently submitted a General Rate Case application to the CPUC, in which it forecasts costs and rate hikes. The utility suggests an average annual electricity bill increase of $144 by 2027, potentially rising to $408 by 2030 for customers using 500 kilowatt hours per month.
PG&E estimates this increase would generate an additional $4.4 billion in revenue over the same period, according to a news report by Sacramento’s KCRA.
Re-Volt’s plan to send new rubber stamps and ink pads to each CPUC member highlights the commission’s reckless approval of rate hikes, a years-long problem.
“The sarcasm of sending rubber stamps to the commissioners might fly over their heads. But it won’t be lost on the millions of California families paying some of the highest electric bills in the country,” said Del Chiaro.
“The CPUC has failed to rein in unnecessary spending by PG&E and the other for-profit monopoly utilities,” she added.
Re-Volt’s campaign includes calling for government officials to scrutinize all of the investor-owned utilities’ spending and hold them and their shareholders accountable for their mistakes.
They should also aggressively look for ways to lower costs by reducing electricity demand on the grid through tried and true efficiency and self-generation technologies.
“We need to rethink how California does electricity,” said Del Chiaro. “We need a ‘re-volt’ that puts consumers in the middle of the equation, not PG&E.”
PG&E customers concerned about the proposed rate increase can voice their concerns at public participation hearings scheduled for October 22 and 23, with an additional in-person hearing on November 7 in Fresno. Re-Volt is also encouraging consumers to call their local state representatives to demand change in how the utilities operate.
For more information about Re-Volt or to join the fight, visit www.re-volt.org.
Note: Del Chiaro is available for interviews upon request.
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The Environmental Working Group (EWG) is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization that empowers people to live healthier lives in a healthier environment. Through research, advocacy and unique education tools, EWG drives consumer choice and civic action.
Re-Volt is a project of EWG in collaboration with a network of dedicated partners committed to advancing energy freedom and utility accountability in California.
