San Diegans have received a reprieve from the possibility of rate hikes this fall.
The California Public Utilities Commission delayed a decision, originally slated for Sept. 6, on a rate increase for customers of San Diego Gas & Electric Co.
Also delayed was a decision on the memorandum of understanding between SDG & E; and the state’s Department of Water Resources. The agreement would erase a $747 million debt SDG & E; customers allegedly owe the utility, in exchange for some concessions from the state, such as settling a pending lawsuit between SDG & E; and the CPUC.
The rate increase, originally scheduled to be discussed Sept. 6, was spelled out in an Aug. 7 memo from the DWR. The entire amount of the rate increase, which could be as high as 25 percent, would reimburse the DWR for its energy purchases on behalf of SDG & E; customers.
Other items of interest to local ratepayers were still on the agenda. The SDG & E; lawsuit against CPUC , which was to be dropped if the MOU were approved , was slated for an executive session. The lawsuit covers the utility’s intermediate-term contracts, which were responsible for $450 million in profits that the commission had said must be refunded to ratepayers.
Also scheduled was a decision on whether to rescind “direct access” , the ability of a ratepayers to select energy providers on their own. Neither decision was available as of press time.
Sheri Inouye, a spokeswoman for the CPUC, confirmed the delay on the two items, but gave no explanation.
Michael Shames, executive director of the Utility Consumers’ Action Network, attributed the delay to the complexity of the two items. The CPUC received so many comments on the rate hike, and there are so many numbers to crunch, that the commission needs more time, he said.
Shames added that there will still be a rate hike eventually, although it’s been delayed.
As to the issue of the MOU, Shames guessed the commission needs more time for “number crunching.”
However, any delay is a good sign, Shames said.
“It means the commission isn’t jumping eagerly to accept the deal between the governor’s office and the utility. And that’s good, because there’s a lot of reasons why they shouldn’t,” he said. “It’s a multi-hundred-million-dollar giveaway to the utility that brings very little benefit to the customer.”
Ed Van Herik, spokesman for SDG & E;, stated that the MOU is still on track.
“It has won some approvals,” he said. “We did sign a key portion and file that with the CPUC last week, and the CPUC is scheduled to take up other portions of it. That’s not to say how they’re going to rule on it; that’s just to say that the timetable is being adhered to.”
