“This latest rate hike comes as PG&E stopped accepting applications for its REACH relief program due to overwhelming demand.”
I’m on municipal power, by my MIL 10 minutes away is on PG&E and her rate is easily 4x mine, it’s absurd. She doesn’t even have AC and her power bill is over $800/mo!
That’s crazy. Is solar an option? It’s close to $120/mo depending on how many panels you get and the terms of the loan/lease. And if you buy you get up to a 1/3 of it back in tax credit (assuming you owe enough).
You normally have to own your home and it takes well over 10 years before you recover the cost of purchasing solar. Home ownership is out of reach for many in California.
True, Net Metering 3.0 made paybacks longer, although if you apply your tax credits to your loan it’s still reasonable. Though I’d point out that there’s no break even point if you’re just paying PG&E. With a solar loan, your payments are locked in vs subject to rate increases and after its paid off, you essentially eliminate your electric bill. I’m just speaking from personal experience though so YMMV.
I agree that housing affordability is difficult in CA and that renters have less options in this regard.
At this point the regulators are totally in the hands of PG&E. They are getting everything they want. The cost of power here in California is insane. My mother is paying over $300 a month. We are being robbed.
All while burning huge swaths of land every year as well as pleading guilty to manslaughter for the deadliest fire of CA history.
We’ve got so many large fires raging that inspectors are spread thin; but I’d put good money on a few being caused by poor infrastructure maintained by PG&E
PG&E is very blatantly trying to crush EV adoption is California. They’re even advertising their EV plan by comparing their pricing to buying gas at the pump.
$0.65/kWh during peak is probably the highest power cost in the whole US, even including Hawaii.
