What's at stake?
Friday’s was one of multiple hearings where California’s commission regulating private utility companies can receive public input on PG&E’s proposed rate hike that would raise energy bills through the end of the decade.
The California Public Utilities Commission’s hearings over proposed electricity rate hikes came to Fresno Friday afternoon, drawing a split crowd of Central Valley residents and industry groups that clashed over whether the increased rates are appropriate.
The public hearing comes after the Pacific Gas & Electric Company submitted a request earlier this year to California’s regulatory commission for private utilities companies, asking commissioners to approve annual rate hikes over a four-year period from 2027 to 2030.
PG&E estimates those increased rates could drive up a typical residential customer’s monthly bill from $214.93 this year to $248.01 by 2030 (for 500 kilowatt-hours of electricity), according to a consumer notice.
The company said in its application to the CPUC that those rate increases are needed to offset the costs of expanding the capacity of its electrical grid to meet growing demand and to continue “undergrounding” more electric lines for wildfire safety purposes.
PG&E spokesperson Mike Gazda added in an email to Fresnoland on Saturday that the company’s request to CPUC, part of a “General Rate Case” cost proposal they’re required to file every four years, is the company’s “smallest GRC percentage increase in a decade.”
“The GRC proposal, in isolation, would increase residential combined bills by a maximum of 3.6% in 2027,” he said. “But, customer bills should remain flat to where (they) are in 2025 because of expected bill decreases in 2026.”
But in a demonstration outside Fresno’s Hugh Burns State Building downtown on Friday, advocates and residents questioned PG&E’s proposal, demanding the CPUC refuse their “rubber stamp” for the rate hikes this time around.
The commission approved six rate increases in 2024 alone — though Gazda said these were “more than offset” by decreases throughout the year. At the same time, average electricity charges for PG&E customers have increased by more than 60% over the last five years, according to a KQED analysis.
“This is out of control,” said Bernadette Del Chiaro of the Environmental Working Group, which organized Friday’s protest. “They’re not providing a safer grid, they’re not providing more reliable electricity, and we’re missing our clean energy goals. So what are we spending money on?”
Daniel and Mary Hernandez, two of about a dozen who joined Friday’s demonstration downtown, told Fresnoland the rate hikes are “too extreme.”
The Kingsburg couple installed solar panels on their home to bring down their electric costs about a decade ago. Even then, they were surprised by an $1,800 bill a few years ago when Daniel was recovering from illness and relied on electricity-draining medical equipment, like oxygen machines, that exceeded their solar panels’ capacity.
Still, they consider themselves lucky — and worry about their neighbors who can’t afford solar panels, let alone their monthly electricity bills.
“People should be able to live comfortably,” Mary said, “and not worry about every year that their PG&E (will) go up.”
In the CPUC hearing that began shortly after the protest, public commenters were more divided.
A diverse showing of opponents to the rate hikes echoed protesters’ concerns, from agricultural industry groups to nonprofits advocating for farmworkers.
“California consumers, including ag processing facilities, can simply no longer afford this,” said Roger Isom, president of the Western Tree Nut Association. “We don’t have a choice because we can’t pick up and move, but we cannot afford this anymore.”
Advocates with Fresno nonprofit Centro La Familia said utility assistance “has now become one of the most common and urgent needs” among the low-income households they serve.
“During the summer, we saw families afraid to turn on their air-conditioners in 110-degree heat because they knew they couldn’t afford the bill that would follow,” said Centro La Familia spokesperson Maria Cortez.
Meanwhile, leaders from other industries said they believe the rate hikes are necessary to meet growing electrical demand.
Darren Rose, president of the Building Industry Association for Fresno and Madera counties, urged the CPUC to approve PG&E’s plan, linking his support to the embattled Southeast Development Area plan.
“The BIA is working to meet an increasing demand for market-rate housing throughout Fresno and Madera counties. We recognize that this is a significant increase, but it is also an essential step in fostering growth and development within our region,” he said, “particularly in light of the ambitious Southeast Development (Area) project, otherwise known as SEDA.
“A fundamental component of this initiative,” he continued, “is the necessity for adequate utility capacity.”
Nasreen Johnson, a representative for Caglia Environmental who also serves on the State Center Community College District board, spoke in support of PG&E’s proposed infrastructure upgrades at Friday’s hearing.
“These infrastructure improvements will ensure our communities are safe, and that upgrade projects like our waste and recycling facility are energized in a timely manner,” Johnson said, “which is essential for us to serve growing communities.”
In an interview Monday, Johnson clarified that despite Caglia’s support for PG&E’s proposed grid improvements, the company does not support the proposed rate increases. Instead, Johnson said the company hopes to see “innovative solutions,” including new legislation and public-private partnerships, to avoid making ratepayers cover the cost of those improvements.
“I don’t support — and neither does Caglia — rate increases,” she said, “because we all know that we’re paying obscene amounts.”
There were only a handful of elected officials and/or their spokespersons at Friday’s hearing, including a representative from Stockton Mayor Christina Fugazi’s office, who also attended the protest beforehand.
However, Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer submitted a letter saying he fully supports “Fresno residents who voice their concerns about the proposed rate increase,” which a CPUC Administrative Law Judge read into the record at the start of Friday’s hearing.
“I met multiple times with PG&E to share my concerns about escalating rates and their harmful impact on many utilities customers, some of them lower-income Fresno residents struggling to make ends meet,” Dyer said in his letter.
“I acknowledge that PG&E has been receptive to my concerns and made some efforts to stabilize rates,” his letter continues. “However, it cannot be ignored that PG&E’s average residential electricity rates have increased between 92 and 121% over the past 10 years.”
The next hearing on the rate increases won’t take place until April 2026. The CPUC is expected to issue a decision on PG&E’s request in May 2027.
Clarification: This story was updated with additional comments on Caglia Environmental’s position on PG&E’s proposal.
