Electric rates for Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) residential customers decreased by 2.1% on September 1, resulting in a typical customer seeing about $5 less on their monthly bill. This change applies to customers who use 500 kilowatt hours per month and do not receive additional discounts.
The rate decrease is attributed to the completion of several projects aimed at increasing wildfire safety and emergency response, which allowed PG&E to remove temporary costs from its rates.
In addition to the lower electric rates, PG&E residential electric customers will receive a California Climate Credit of $58.23 during their October billing cycle. Eligible small business customers will also get this credit. The California Climate Credit is distributed twice each year as part of the state’s efforts to support utility customers during the transition to a low-carbon future.
Carla Peterman, executive vice president of corporate affairs and chief sustainability officer at PG&E, said, “While we continue making progress to stabilize electric prices for our customers, we know there is more work to do. Our focus is on making our system safer and more reliable for customers every day, while managing our costs to keep bills as low as possible.”
Over the past three years, PG&E has saved around $2.5 billion in operating and capital costs through efficiency improvements such as using drones for equipment inspections and combining electric projects into single scopes of work. These savings have helped fund safety and reliability upgrades while offsetting some associated costs.
Despite these local reductions, national electricity prices are forecasted by the U.S. Energy Information Administration to rise through 2026, outpacing expected inflation (https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/steo/report/electricity.php). In contrast, PG&E expects its residential electric rates will decrease again in 2026.
Alongside electric rate changes, gas rates also decreased by 0.4% in September, saving an average residential customer about $0.39 per month based on typical usage.
PG&E continues to offer various programs aimed at helping customers save energy and manage their bills. Financial assistance programs are available for those who qualify.
Pacific Gas and Electric Company serves over sixteen million people across Northern and Central California.
More information can be found at https://www.pge.com/news.
