Happy New Rate Increase?

January first. A day where we put our resolutions into action. Eat healthier food, join a gym, and…pay PG&E more? That is correct, you may be looking at a 5.6% rate increase in your bills beginning January, with another adjustment coming in March. Fresno and other counties in California already pay 40% more that the nationwide average, despite the fact that we are using far less energy. In fact, our usage has fallen substantially since 2008, yet we Californians are paying 6.8 Billion dollars MORE for electricity than we were then. The Central Valley takes on an especially heavy utility burden due to the fact that we frequently hit 100+ degree weather in the summer and dive down into icy conditions in the winter. Will PG&E ever stop trying to take more out of our paychecks?

What You Should Know About the New PG&E Rate Increase

Not only is PG&E raising their rates, they want all ratepayers to foot the bill for the devastating California wine country wildfires! Despite earning over 1.56 billion dollars in just the first nine months of 2017, they are currently only insured for up to 800 Million. The damages for the fires is likely to go way beyond that. PG&E sat down with a PUC commissioner and requested the commission not to establish a “precedent of disproportionately placing all of the risk on the utilities rather than spreading the costs.” PG&E argues that due to the growing risk of wildfires brought on by the drought and other conditions beyond their control, that they can not be held responsible for preventing the spread of wildfire, even if their equipment is found to be at fault.

These increases coming from your utility company, along with the many additional fees we are paying to the state, such as the gas tax, registration increase etc., saving money for your family becomes increasingly difficult and even more important. The only way to break free from the forever increasing utility rates is to either use less and less power each year (only to pay nearly the same amount) or to go solar and get a system that offsets your usage so that you can count on having a bill that is consistent–month in and month out. We here at Energy Concepts have proudly served the Fresno area for the last 25 years, and we continue to grow and serve the community more. Give us a call and let us show you how we can help you save. With us, you work with a Fresno local solar company who values customers and puts them (and you) first.

Energy Concepts can handle all of your solar needs. If you’re interested in solar, give us a call at (559) 485-2504 or fill out an online contact form!