Opinion: SDG&E profits while 1-in-3 households can’t pay utility bills
High voltage lines in California File photo by John Antczak Associated Press I was having a hard time paying my utility bill even before I lost my job during the pandemic But after my employer closed its doors and the paychecks stopped coming it became harder than ever I faced an agonizing decision pay my rent or pay my utility bill I did what I think any reasonable person would have done I kept a roof over my head and the utility bills started to pile up I cut costs everywhere I could to keep the lights on But after every bill I paid the next one seemed to be higher My utility San Diego Gas Electric isn t cutting costs to keep bills down for us In fact while I was scrambling to keep my electricity on they were posting million in profits And now they re asking California regulators to authorize even higher profits The California Constituents Utilities Commission is about to decide whether to give SDG E what they want or certainly put customers first This decision will be made within weeks and it will determine whether households like mine get relief or get squeezed even harder SDG E in the present has a profit margin for money it borrows and wants to keep it that high or push it higher But financial experts say a fair rate would be closer to If the CPUC sets rates at that level the level consumer advocates are recommending my household and yours too could save over a year I ve been a San Diego resident for nearly years and SDG E is the only utility company I ve ever known And for majority of my life their bills were manageable When I began to face trouble I started talking to others in my locality and realized I wasn t alone With electricity rates up almost in years roughly one in three SDG E customers are behind on their utility bills These are my friends and neighbors As my utility debt increased I began to wonder Why are these bills so high While Californians are struggling to pay their bills private utilities are posting record or near record profits SDG E had a record-setting year in and wasn t far behind PG E and SoCal Edison customers saw their rates rise while both companies posted record profits in The more I learned the more disgusted I became How could these companies be earning hand over fist while California families struggle to keep their lights on and their houses warm in the winter and cool in the summer Who s letting this happen I became a member of the Alliance of Californians for Society Empowerment ACCE when I learned they were fighting on behalf of Californians like me on economic issues including utility accountability And down the rabbit hole I went as I learned how private utilities like SDG E make money One of the the bulk surprising things had to do with how utilities pay for the massive projects they take on Whether it s wildfire mitigation or upgrading the electricity grid when private utilities need money for big projects they borrow it from someone else just like most of companies What s different here and shocking is that private utilities provide lenders a profit rate that those lenders wouldn t be able to find anywhere else in certain cases nearly double what lenders would get in other situations And who pays for those guaranteed profits You guessed it Californians like me and you Every three years private utilities ask the CPUC whose members are appointed by the Governor to approve the profit rates they provide their lenders These five commissioners have the power to set lower rates of guaranteed profit saving Californians billions of dollars a year They can deliver an affordability win for customers or prioritize the profits of corporations who clearly don t need help from regulators or more money out of our pocketbooks Commissioners please do right by the people of California and take decisive action when you vote in December Set utility profits at reasonable rates You have the power to free utility customers like me from choosing to pay our electric bills or pay for food or medicine You have the power to prioritize everyday Californians over wealthy corporations Barbara A Pinto is a resident of Logan Heights and member of the Alliance of Californians for Group Empowerment Want to submit a letter to the editor guest column or opinion piece Find our guidelines and submission form here
