Cali wildfire bailout results in electric rates 70% higher than national average

Chriss Street
July 21, 2019


California’s proposed $26 billion bailout of bankrupt PG&E’s wildfire liability will push the state’s average residential electric rates to 70 percent higher than national average.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill on July 18 that supposedly will share equally between Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) shareholders and its customer the estimated $21 billion liability for 2017 and 2018 wildfire losses. The deal is also contingent on PG&E and the state’s other two investor-owned utilities, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas, contribute another $5 billion to cover losses.

According to the latest U.S. Energy Information Agency report, California’s residential electric rates currently average 18.05 cents per kilowatt hour (kwh) versus a national average for the other states of 13.16 cents / kwh. Despite already being 37 percent higher than the national average, the bailout will push rates up to about 22.22 cents / kwh, or almost 70 percent higher than the national average.

PG&E is the seventh largest U.S. electric utility. The company has 106,681 circuit miles of electric distribution lines, 18,466 circuit miles of interconnected transmission lines, and 24,000 employees to service 5.4 million customer accounts for 16 million residents.

A recent Wall Street Journal investigation found that PG&E delayed repairs to older transmission lines by ranking the upgrades as low priority compared to other work like substation upgrades, according to a review of federal regulatory filings. The Journal found that PG&E in 2017 identified the need for new steel towers and transmission line repairs to prevent “structure failure resulting [in] conductor on ground causing fire.”

PG&E issued a statement pledging to continue “working with the new California Public Utilities Commission President, the governor, and all stakeholders on shared solutions to California’s ever-growing risk of wildfire,” while “keeping customer rates and bills as low as possible.”

Gov. Newsom’s bailout plan requires San Diego Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison must approve their willingness to participate. The bailout plan also requires PG&E must exit bankruptcy by next June and meet a series of safety requirements, despite providing a long-term funding mechanism for up to $20 billion in repairs.

Although it was assumed the other utilities would participate, Southern California Edison is now requesting that California approve a spike in the return on equity to above 17 percent to "compensate investors for the higher risks associated with uncertain state policies for utility cost recovery and liability resulting from California's devastating wildfires."




https://www.americanthinker.com/blo...ic_rates_70_higher_than_national_average.html