Overview
- This week the CPUC’s Public Advocates Office published a forecast that typical PG&E household bills could climb about $444 in 2027 and roughly $840 by 2030, figures the office says reflect cumulative recovery of wildfire, inflation and modernization costs.
- PG&E strongly disputes that outlook and says its 2027 request to collect roughly $1.2 billion would raise average household bills only about $128 next year and then rise modestly through 2030 under the company’s projections.
- A key technical fight is over how costs are recovered: multi-year general rate cases are closely reviewed, while memorandum and balancing accounts let utilities seek extra money outside that process, and UC Berkeley found those off-budget accounts grew from $86.6 million in 2018 to nearly $2.4 billion in 2024.
- PG&E points to tools meant to lower customer costs, including cost-cutting efforts and a $15 billion U.S. Department of Energy loan guarantee the company says could save customers up to $1 billion over the loan’s life.
- The CPUC will set the final rates starting in 2027, a decision that will affect household bills, shape debates over electrification and grid upgrades, and could push calls for tighter oversight or alternative public financing to limit future bill shocks.