Chico resident Leslie Howard has done everything she can think of to reduce her gas and electric bill. She’s purchased insulation blinds for her windows and fully blocked off two rooms in her four-bedroom house.Over the winter, Howard heated her home with gas and kept the temperature at around 67 degrees. She wore her jacket inside rather than turning up the heat. She said one of her friends resorted to wearing a heated vest when visiting because the home was too cold for her.
to utility bills from investor-owned companies, including PG&E, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas and Electric. The hope was that redesigning rates would help make them more equitable by reducing costs for lower-income residents and those in areas with extreme temperatures. The deadline to vote on a proposal for adding a fixed charge is July 1 of this year.
“The current electric rate structure penalizes households that have less control over their electricity use, such as those that live in a hotter region or have more residents under one roof,” the CPAO said in a statement after the CPUC released the proposal. CPAO estimated that customers not enrolled in low-income programs could see between $6.79 in savings to an increase of $11.50 per month under the new rate restructure, depending on how much electricity they use.The CPUC invited members of the public to comment on the proposal on its website ahead of the May 9 meeting. In public comments, residents seem less enthralled with the plan.