CPUC set to vote Thursday on Edison rate hike that would add about $17 to average monthly bills
Garrett Hottle
SAN FRANSISCO, Calif. (KESQ) State regulators are scheduled to vote Thursday on whether to let Southern California Edison raise residential power bills by nearly 10 percent starting Oct. 1, an increase the California Public Utilities Commission estimates would add about $17 a month, or roughly $200 a year, for a typical household using 500 kilowatt hours.
The vote is on the utility’s 2025 General Rate Case, which sets Edison’s base revenue for the next four years. A proposed CPUC decision would authorize a 2025 revenue requirement of $9.756 billion, about $727 million less than Edison requested, with additional inflationary adjustments in 2026 to 2028.
Thursday’s meeting is scheduled for 11 a.m. in San Francisco, with public comment at the start of the agenda. Edison’s application, listed as Item 43 on the agenda, could be approved, modified, or held over.
Edison says higher revenues are needed for day to day operations and grid upgrades, including wildfire mitigation, vegetation management, and preparing the system for growing electric demand. In an interview this week, an SCE spokesperson said the company understands rising costs are challenging, while arguing the case supports a reliable and resilient grid.
Table 1 provides an estimate of what the impact on rates from this increase in the revenue requirement will be. It assumes a residential average monthly bill and usage of 500 kWh/month. – CPUC Fact Sheet on SCE rate increase.
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, who is also running for governor, urged commissioners in a letter Tuesday to reject the increase, calling it an unacceptable burden on families and criticizing a new income based fixed charge that begins in November. “Ratepayers cannot continue to be treated as a bottomless piggy bank,” Bianco wrote.
If the CPUC adopts the proposed decision, Edison would implement new rates on Oct. 1 and amortize revenue differences that accrued since Jan. 1 over 24 months, according to industry summaries and CPUC materials. Further adjustments are contemplated through 2028.
News Channel 3 will be tracking Thursday mornings commission meeting, and update you with any new developments as they come in.