03/29/2024

Northern California customers fume as PG&E bills soar

Customers of Pacific Gas and Electric Company are fuming after a double-digit rate hike produced dramatically higher winter heating bills.

The 13 percent increase in natural gas rates took effect in August, but consumers didn’t feel the pinch until December, when residents turned up their thermostats in the face of a particularly cold and wet season. Electricity rates were raised three times in the past year. Combined, electricity and gas rates for PG&E customers are an average of 21 percent higher than they were a year ago, said utility spokesman Donald Cutler.

“My bill has never, ever been this high,” said Citrus Heights resident Linda Klein-Andrade, 61, of her natural gas charges from PG&E.

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