California Public Utilities Commission Wants To Hear From You About PG&E’s Rate Request

South San Francisco, CA    July 8, 2016  Submitted by Sheri Boles, CPUC 

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) will hold Public Participation Hearings to hear directly from members of the public about Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s (PG&E) request to increase rates. PG&E is requesting CPUC authority to increase revenue $333 million in 2017, followed by an additional increase of $469 million in 2018 and, in 2019, an additional increase of $368 million. The cumulative total increase for the 2017-2019 period would be $2.305 billion as compared to the 2016 revenue amount of $7.9 billion.

The Public Participation Hearings will take place as follows:

● July 11, 2016, 1 p.m. AND 6 p.m.: City of Bakersfield City Hall South Council Chambers, 1501 Truxtun Ave., Bakersfield

● July 12, 2016, 1 p.m. AND 6 p.m.: Fresno City Council Chambers. 2600 Fresno St., Fresno

● July 13, 2016, 7 p.m.: Stockton City Council Chambers, 425 N. El Dorado St., Stockton

● July 14, 2016, 6 p.m.: Manzanita Place, 1705 Manzanita Ave., Chico

● July 18, 2016, 7 p.m.: Courtyard Richmond Berkeley, 3150 Garrity Way, Richmond

● July 19, 2016, 1 p.m. AND 6 p.m.: Elihu Harris State Building, 2nd Floor, Room 2, 1515 Clay St., Oakland

● July 20, 2016, 1 p.m. AND 6 p.m.: CPUC Auditorium, 505 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco

● July 25, 2016, 1 p.m. AND 6 p.m.: City of Santa Rosa, Recreation and Parks Department Steel Lane Community Center, Dohn Room, 415 Steele Ln., Santa Rosa

● July 26, 2016, 1 p.m. AND 6 p.m.: San Bruno Library, Downstairs Room, 701 Angus Ave. W., San Bruno

● July 27, 2016, 1 p.m. AND 6 p.m.: San Jose Scottish Rite Center, Room 3, 2455 Masonic Dr., San Jose

● July 28, 2016, 1 p.m. AND 6 p.m.: San Luis Obispo City, County Library, Library Community Room, 995 Palm St., San Luis Obispo

Comments from the public can help the CPUC reach an informed decision; consumers are encouraged to attend Public Participation Hearings.

For those unable to attend a Public Participation Hearing in person, written comments on any proceeding may be submitted to: CPUC Public Advisor, 505 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco, CA 94102, or via email to public.advisor@cpuc.ca.gov. Please refer to proceeding number A.15-09-001 on any written or email correspondence. All public comments received are provided to the CPUC’s Commissioners and the Administrative Law Judge assigned to the case.

Documents related to the proceeding are available at: https://apps.cpuc.ca.gov/apex/f?p=401:56:0::NO:RP,57,RIR:P5_PROCEEDING_SELECT:A1509001.
If specialized accommodations are needed to attend a Public Participation Hearing, such as non-English language interpreters, please contact the CPUC’s Public Advisor’s Office at public.advisor@cpuc.ca.gov or toll free at 866-849-8390.

For more information on these Public Participation Hearings, please see www.cpuc.ca.gov/PPH.

To receive electronic updates on CPUC proceedings, sign-up for the CPUC’s free subscription service at http://subscribecpuc.cpuc.ca.gov.

While a quorum of Commissioners and/or their staff may attend these hearings, no official action will be taken.

For more information on the CPUC, please visit www.cpuc.ca.gov.

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UPDATE:

A question was raised on our FB page ‘Where can we find out what these increases are specifically for?”

Thanks to Sheri Boles, CPUC, for this explanation:

Every three years, PG&E — as well as the other energy investor owned utilities in the state — are required to file a General Rate Case (GRC) application with the Commission. In its 2017 GRC application, PG&E is requesting approval to increase rates “to operate, maintain, and upgrade (its) electric distribution, gas distribution, and electric generation facilities.” Specifically, PG&E is requesting CPUC authority to increase revenue $333 million in 2017, followed by an additional increase of $469 million in 2018 and, in 2019, an additional increase of $368 million, which and according to PG&E’s application, will be used “to operate, maintain, and upgrade (its) electric distribution, gas distribution, and electric generation facilities.”

The CPUC will be carefully reviewing all stakeholders’ testimony to ultimately decide what is reasonable for consumers to pay in rates (in other words to ultimately make a decision on PG&E’s GRC application). That’s why it’s critical that all consumers provide testimony, whether in person or in writing, to the CPUC decision makers.