PG&E Announces Summer Rate Relief

SAN FRANCISCO, May 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) will be cutting average rates for electric customers in Northern and Central California starting June 1, the utility said today. The summer rate relief is among a number of measures PG&E is taking to help residential and business customers manage their electricity costs.

"California is in the midst of its worst economic downturn in nearly 70 years," said Helen Burt, PG&E's senior vice president and chief customer officer.  "We have an obligation to all our customers to help them keep their energy costs and usage in check."  

With the start of summer will come higher temperatures and, for many of PG&E's customers, the need to run air conditioners for health and comfort. Electric bills can soar with daily temperatures that often exceed 100 degrees, especially since customers pay higher rates the more energy they use.

That's why, in keeping with its pledge to help customers keep their energy costs as low as possible, PG&E is taking several steps to cut its electric rates on June 1:

• The utility will lower average electric rates for all customers 3.0 percent. (The specific impact on bills will vary by how much electricity customers use and whether they are homes or businesses. See charts below for residential impact.)
• PG&E is cutting the top residential rate charged for the highest levels of use by 19.6 percent in all parts of its service area. This rate rollback will help customers in inland areas during the hottest months when air conditioning is a necessity and will also provide relief to customers elsewhere who have higher-than-average use due to larger family size, medical needs, more exposure to sun, or older, less well-insulated homes and apartments.
• Rates for the next highest level of use will drop by 5.8 percent. Rates for the middle tier will rise 1.8 percent to help offset the other declines.

Help for Customers to Manage their Energy Costs

In addition to rate relief this summer, PG&E offers many other ways to help customers save on energy. PG&E has a robust suite of energy efficiency programs, online tools to analyze energy use and rebates for energy-efficient products. PG&E also offers financial assistance programs to help customers get one-time help to pay bills, balance their payments out over the course of a year or establish a payment plan to catch up on late bills. Customers should call 1-800-PGE-5000 as soon as they think they may have trouble paying their bills.

Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE: PCG), is one of the largest combined natural gas and electric utilities in the United States. Based in San Francisco, with 20,000 employees, the company delivers some of the nation's cleanest energy to 15 million people in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit www.pge.com/about/.

SOURCE Pacific Gas and Electric Company