Fed-up San Diego customers packed back-to-back hearings Tuesday to fight a utility rate hike in a state with some of America’s highest power prices.
More than 100 customers of San Diego Gas & Electric crowded into a pair of California Public Utilities Commission meetings in Santee to oppose the utility’s proposed 8.6 percent increase to combined electric and gas bills in 2028, 10News reported. Monthly bills for a typical home would climb by roughly $14.03 for power and $8.45 for natural gas, the utility estimates.
That’s nearly $270 a year for an average customer, NBC 7 San Diego reported. Regulators still have to approve it, and they likely won’t decide for at least a year.
“We pay some of the highest rates in the nation,” Tyler Andre of SanDiego350, a climate change activist group, said at the meeting, according to NBC 7.
He also cited the $862 million profit the utility posted from January through September, the outlet reported.
“Dude, the rates are absolutely ridiculous,” customer Bob Larson said at the hearing, 10News reported.
San Diego Gas & Electric and the commission did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s requests for comment.
“We know our customers are concerned about affordability, and we take that seriously,” a utility spokesperson said in a statement, NBC 7 reported. “We’re focused on controlling costs, operating more efficiently and finding ways to keep bills as manageable as possible, while continuing to provide safe, reliable energy.”
The utility wants roughly $3.8 billion for 2028. That’s $280 million over its 2027 estimate, its rate case website shows. The money would go toward wildfire mitigation, infrastructure, cybersecurity, insurance and other costs, NBC 7 reported.
Under the plan, bills would rise every year from 2028 through 2031, adding $1.07 billion over those four years, according to the outlet.
California households paid an average of 32.58 cents per kilowatt-hour for electricity in the first eight months of 2026, second only to Hawaii, Energy Information Administration data shows. The national average was 18.19 cents.
The commission will take more public comment at virtual hearings Dec. 9 and 10, the utility’s website shows.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
The post San Diego Customers Pack Hearings To Fight $270-A-Year Utility Hike was first published by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service which makes its content available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. Please support their efforts.
