PG&E customers can expect brief relief this month from soaring bills

Twice-yearly climate credit arrives in monthly bills

OAKLAND — PG&E customers can expect some temporary relief from their skyrocketing monthly utility bills when a credit is included in their October regular statement.

According to a web post from the state Public Utilities Commission (PUC), the discount comes in the form of a climate credit, which is given to customers twice a year.

“The climate credit provides ratepayers with their share of the benefits of California’s Cap-and-Trade Program,” according to the PUC.

This year’s credits were applied to bills in February or March, as well as in October. The credits are given to residential customers of investor-owned utilities like PG&E. The credit for PG&E this month is the same as it was in February and March, $38.39.

In comparison, PG&E customers who receive combined electricity and gas services pay an average of $240.73 per month for utility costs. This equates to 15.9% of an average residential customer’s PG&E bill for October.

However, when compared to the yearly total of PG&E monthly bills, the impact is negligible. The twice-yearly climate credit is worth about $76.78 per year. If the monthly PG&E bill of $240.73 is applied to the entire year, it comes to approximately $2,889 per year. That is, over a 12-month period, the climate credit amounts to slightly less than 2.7% of what PG&E customers pay for their gas and electricity services.

And several proposals are in the works that could cause PG&E monthly bills to skyrocket, depending on a variety of actions being considered by state regulators.