Legal News

Controversial energy rate hike gets thumbs-up from Cal PUC admin judge

By Richard Binder

In a proposed decision, Judge Thomas Pulsifier supports a recommendation by San Diego Gas & Electric Co. to raise rates by 5 percent for people who use the least electricity and lower them between 4 percent and 5 percent for people who use the most.

Under the proposal, an inland SDG&E customer using 500 kilowatt-hours would see monthly bills go up $2.66 to about $75.41; a neighbor using twice as much power would see a decrease of $4 to about $230, but still would have a bill more than three times as expensive.

The rate proposal has been criticized by customers who say it would reward energy hogs while punishing misers. But Pulsifier, an administrative law judge with the California Public Utilities Commission said the resulting rates would still promote conservation and were called for by a new law designed to bring rates in line with what it costs to produce power.

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Full post as published by Legal Pad | LA on December 08, 2009 (boomark / email).