Hearings planned in San Diego June 26 and 28
By Miriam Raftery
June 15, 2018 (San Diego) — Ratepayers may be in for an unpleasant shock. San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) has asked the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) for an 11% increase next year and increases of 6.9%, 5.1% and 4.9% in 2020, 2021 and 2022.
Ratepayers who wish to voice views on the proposed increase can email public.advisor@cpuc.ca.gov, mail to CPUC Public Advisor, 505 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco, CA 94102, or attend upcoming hearings in Escondido and Chula Vista June 26 and 28. Below are details:
June 26, 2018
California Center for the Arts, Salon 3, 340 N. Escondido Blvd., Escondido, CA 92025
1 p.m. and 6 p.m. Information session
2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Public hearing
June 28, 2018
Chula Vista City Hall Council Chambers, 276 Fourth Ave., Chula Vista, CA 91910
1 p.m. and 6 p.m. Information session
2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Public hearing
For more information, e-mail public.advisor@cpuc.ca.gov.
At an earlier public hearing in El Cajon, some residents voiced objections. La Mesa resident Henry Holt, a senior on a fixed income, noted that Sempra has “one of the largest incomes of all the utilities,” adding, “No, they don’t need the money. I need the money,” 10 News reports.
Another ratepayer, James Anderson, suggested the proposed hike is means of recouping money from ratepayers after the CPUC denied SDG&E’s request to recover its uninsured losses from the2007 firestorms by charging ratepayers for those costs. SDG&E has denied this motivation.
SDG&E communications manager Wes Jones, in an e-mail to ECM, says the company is “committed to delivering the clean, safe, reliable energy that every family in the region deserves.” He says the rate increase, if approved, “will allow us to modernize and upgrade our infrastructure to ensure long-term reliability and safety for our region.”
The rate request is in the company’s operating budget, submitted by law every three years to the CPUC. If approved, besides higher rates, Jones says ratepayers would also see some benefits:
- Modernizing and upgrading infrastructure to minimize power outages
- Replacing wood poles with fire-resistant steel poles
- Upgrading 50-year old electrical substations to improve power reliability
- Improving the safety and reliability of overhead and underground power lines
- Protecting the structural integrity of 14,000 miles of natural gas pipelines by increasing safety checks and maintenance
- Installing the latest software and grid-sensing technologies to integrate more clean energy
But Supervisor Dianne Jacob, a vocal critic of SDG&E, contends that the company’s profits are already high enough and believes ratepayers should not have to shoulder additional costs for such upgrades.
Jacob posted on Facebook, “A 2017 study found that SDG&E rates were among the highest, or the highest, in the nation. Check out page 10.” http://www.les.com/_resources/dyn/files/1136532z82b94180/_fn/rate-survey.pdf This table shows that for 2018 rates, San Diego has the highest rates in the nation along with Honolulu for both residential and commercial electric rates.
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