New $24 monthly fee proposed for many Southern California electricity customers

A new fee proposed for some Southern Californians’ power bills is rankling some residents, and a local state legislator aims to stop the implementation of the high charge.

While Los Angeles Department of Water and Power customers won’t be affected by the proposed $24 charge, many others will, including those who get their electricity from the California Public Utility Commission-regulated Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas and Electric Company, as reported by the Los Angeles Daily News .

While the CPUC has offered a reduction of 5 to 7 centers per kilowatt hour in exchange for the fee, Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin (D-Thousand Oaks) says that’s not enough to offset “skyrocketing” rates.

“Our constituents have had enough and so have we,” she said in a press conference. “It’s time to put some reasoning back into how we charge for electricity in California.”

As the Daily News noted, over the past decade, “PGE rates have increased 127%, SCE rates have increased 91% and SDGE rates have increased 72%.”

The higher fees are expected to be discussed by the CPUC next month, but Irwin’s proposal, Assembly Bill 1999, is currently in committee. If it passes, the CPUC’s ability to impose this fee would be revoked.

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