PG&E rates set to rise again on Thursday

Monthly rates for California’s largest provider of electricity and natural gas service are going up by almost 6 percent for the average home. This is after an earlier bump last fall of nearly $7 for electricity and gas combined for the average bill.

Last August the California Public Utilities Commission voted to approve the $2.37 billion increase over 3 years, but to limit the massive increase on consumers in 2014, PG&E staggered the increase. The combined electric and gas bill increase on average $7 last fall and the remaining combined energy increase of nearly $8 will land next Thursday.

The extra money will help cover the cost for replacing old gas distribution lines, installing more equipment to minimize blackouts, and hiring more workers for the utility’s call centers, among other things.

PG&E serves about 16 million people across Northern and Central California, from Bakersfield almost to the Oregon border.

Rates vary for coast and inland regions and whether customers take advantage of CARE discounts.

If you’d like to see the impacts on average usage you can log on to www.PGE.com or put the following link in your browser: http://www.pge.com/en/myhome/saveenergymoney/plans/rateupdates/about/grc.page

The rate hike is the largest since 2006. Some businesses will also see a small rate increase.