4. PG&E's Pre-Settlement RCES Proposal

In its pre-settlement testimony, PG&E presented an RCES proposal calling for changes in residential customer bill content, format, and calculations to implement provisions of Pub. Util. Code § 739(e) which requires disclosure of various information of residential electric utility customers' bills. In conformance with this requirement, PG&E proposed bill format revisions regarding: use of graphics to present current and historical usage to make monthly energy statements easier to read and understand; reorganization of certain elements or sections to reduce customer confusion; and, adjustments to the physical size and shape of the statement for simpler handling/processing by customers.

PG&E also proposed changes to meet the needs of specific customer segments in a choice of four languages (English, Spanish, Chinese and Vietnamese). Customers would also have the choice of a low vision format with key information in large font. Customers would have the ability to opt for a simplified, one-page format that omits detail on calculations and definitions of industry terms. Finally, PG&E proposes changes to bill calculation algorithms. These changes would (1) allow presentation of cost-per-tier for gas and electric bills (the product of the usage in the tier and the price in the tier); (2) provide price components specific to Direct Access (DA) and Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) customers; and (3) would round aggregated usage to one decimal before calculating the cost of usage.

PG&E requested recovery of $34.7 million for costs of implementing the RCES revisions, as authorized in this 2011 GRC Phase 3 proceeding.