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CPUC SETS NEW ELECTRIC RATES FOR PG&E AND EDISON CUSTOMERS The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) today set the rate structure for the way various types of customers will be billed for electric usage, following the Commission's adoption of a 3-cent/kilowatt-hour (kWh) rate increase on March 27, 2001. Customer rates are affected as follows: · Overall, low-income customers, medical baseline customers, and residential customers using below the 130% of "baseline" usage amounts would see no effect. The baseline ceiling was set in Assembly Bill 1X. · For PG&E customers, average monthly bills for residential customers with usage · For Edison customers, residential customers with usage between 130 percent and 200 percent of baseline have an average monthly bill increase of $4, or a 6% average increase in their total bill. Customers using between 200 and 300 percent of baseline face an average monthly increase of $21, or a 20% bill increase. Customers with heaviest residential usage, who use over 300% of the baseline amount have a 37% increase in their monthly bill, or $71. Small and medium businesses, 4.1 cents/kWh for both flat and time-of-use customers, or 36 percent; industrial, time-of-use rates would go up 4.25 cents/kWh or 49 percent; and, agricultural, 2.0 cents/kWh flat rate and 1.8 cents/kWh for time-of-use customers, or 15 and 20 percent rate increases respectively. Comparison tables are at http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/ratedesign/index.htm Because of Assembly Bill 1X, residential customers who remain below 130% of baseline or average usages in the state, will not be affected by the increase. A March 27 Commission order also exempted all customers who qualify for the California Alternative Rates for Energy (CARE) program. And, eligibility was expanded from 150 percent to 175 percent . And, in response to urging by Governor Gray Davis, agricultural rate increases will be capped at 15 percent for non-time-of-use customers and at 20 percent for time-of-use customers. "We continue to look to the federal government to restrain wholesale prices," President Loretta Lynch stated. "The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has not implemented hard price caps and this action is directly responsible for the severe pain we regrettably inflict today on the families, the farms and the businesses of California. We encourage all of those affected by our decision to contact their federal representatives to urge FERC to take positive action and implement the necessary wholesale price controls that will bring some relief to the toll exacted on California." The Commission proposes to allocate among four levels of customers the 3-cent per kWh average rate increase authorized for Southern California Edison Company (Edison) and Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) on March 27, 2001. ( http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/published/final_decision/6067.htm) Revenues collected from that day forward will enable the utilities to serve their customers and make payments to the California Department of Water Resources, which is purchasing electricity for the utilities. The annual revenue expected from the increase is about $5 billion annually for the two utilities, in addition to the $1.5 billion rate increase approved by the Commission on January 4, 2001.
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