Oppose PG&E’s request for a rate hike

Over the past year, TURN received hundreds of e-mails and calls from our members complaining  that their Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) bills have become unaffordable.  Many reported that they had been shut off, on the verge of a shut off or asked for expensive deposits they could not afford.  Many also reported that the new “SmartMeters” have caused electric bills to double and triple.

 

Then there is Proposition 16.   As you know,  Prop 16 is the worst kind of special ballot initiative paid for by a single corporation.

 

How can things get any worse?  PG&E is now asking the CPUC for a $4.2 billion rate increase.   This translates into a 30 percent increase in utility rates over the next three years.  PG&E’s rates are already:

• Higher than municipal utilities in CA
• Higher than Southern California Edison
• Among the highest in the U.S 

PG&E’s rates pay for corporate excesses including:

• Inflated executive salaries and bonuses
• Millions in lobbying and campaign contributions
• Millions on Prop 16 and other efforts to defeat public power
• Billions on dumb smart meters 

Customers in Oakland will have the opportunity to let the CPUC know how a rate increase will impact them at a Public Participation Meeting in Oakland.        

                                                                                      

Monday, June 7, 2010

at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.

Elihu Harris State Building – 1st Floor Auditorium

1515 Clay Street