Newsom’s CPUC votes to raise consumers’ monthly utility bills

SACRAMENTO, CA – Today, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) voted to raise monthly utility bills by adding a fixed charge of more than $24 per month. Californians already pay some of the highest utility rates in the country, and this latest action by Newsom’s appointees will make it even worse for struggling families, saddling them with nearly $300 annually in fixed charges. 

“From the start, this proposal was poorly constructed and flawed – this fixed rate is uncapped and discourages energy conservation because even if you are energy conscious, you’re still hit with a $24 charge,” said Senate Republican Caucus Chair Kelly Seyarto (R-Murrieta).“All this does is put a bigger burden on working families that are already dealing with the repercussions of unrealistic energy policies that make California unaffordable.”

“Families in my district and around the state are struggling to buy food, pay their bills, and fill up their gas tank to get to work,” said Senator Brian Dahle (R-Bieber), Vice Chair of the Senate Energy, Utilities, and Communications Committee. “Now, Newsom’s appointees are adding another $300 to families’ already stretched budgets. Unbelievable!”

Earlier this week, Senate Minority Leader Brian W. Jones (R-San Diego) and all members of the California Senate Republican Caucus delivered an urgent letter to the CPUC requesting the commission to reject the proposal. Click here to read the caucus’s letter.

Recently, the San Diego Union-Tribune published Leader Jones’s Op-Ed expressing his concerns with the unfair fixed charge and his attempt to repeal this new charge with his “Cost of Living Reduction Act.” Despite bipartisan support for repealing the fixed charge, his measure was defeated by Democrats on the Senate Energy committee.

source: California Senate Republicans