‘It’s more than your rent’: Locals react as Newsom promises to try lowering PG&E bills

FRESNO, Calif. ( KSEE/KGPE ) – As residents feel the heat in the Central Valley once again, for many, what their upcoming PG&E bills could look like is at the top of their minds.

Tuesday, California Governor Gavin Newsom, in a visit to Fresno, made a promise to try and ease those concerns, at least in the future, as he pledged to attempt lowering bills for everyone.

“Are rates becoming more and more of a problem? Absolutely. Unequivocally. Are we going to do something about it? Yes,” he said.

While he wouldn’t give away specifics on his plan, Newsom revealed the main target in an attempt to cut utility costs are state programs he says are worked directly into utility bills.

“There are a lot of things on your bill that I don’t think should be on your bill,” said Governor Newsom. “There are a lot of programs in this state that frankly stack up. And then, everybody pays for what only a few people are taking advantage of,” he said.

According to PG&E, those policies and programs make up for roughly a third of people’s bills.

Those costs are made up of 6% for California public purpose programs, 15% for subsidizing solar customer’s grid maintenance costs, and an additional $1.8 billion per year to trim trees to reduce wildfires and outages.

PG&E’s spokesperson Jeff Smith added in a statement, “While many of these policies and programs benefit Californians, when they are paid for through utility bills they can disproportionately burden low-income households.”

However, in addition to dollars going to programs and policies, rate increases continue to hit families hard. In September, the California Public Utilities Commission unanimously passed its fourth PG&E rate hike of the year.

“There are no limits to how much the public utilities can grant in an increase,” said Mark Toney, executive director for The Utility Reform Network. “Utility debt has quintupled over the past four years. It’s five times more than it used to be,” he said.

For some business owners, like Cora Shipley, the owner of Soups, Scoops, & More, change has to be made with over $2,000 per month to PG&E for the small business.

Shipley says while anything would help, she’s doubtful help is on the way and says time for her and others could be running out.

“It’s more than your rent, it’s more than anything. Your payroll, it is the number one driving force. We have to run the air because of the ice cream. So, you’re between a rock and a hard place,” said Shipley.

Newsom says his initial action on utility bills could come soon before he aims to take greater action early in 2025.

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