twice. Tonight we begin a new series called The High Price of Power. This is something that so many of us can relate to our skyrocketing PG and E bills. What's behind all these PG and E rate hikes? Here's NBC investigative reporter Jaxon Vanderbeken. Hawaii. The isolated island Paradise where everything costs more, including power. Much of it comes from oil. That has to be shipped in from as far as Libya and Argentina. The cost to generate it accounts for about half the average $0.41 per kilowatt hour price. Customs pay, according to the federal Energy Information Administration, Hawaii has been held out as the entity with the highest rates in the United States. Mike Campbell tracks rates for the consumer watchdog arm of the California Public Utilities Commission. He says over the last five years, PG and E rates have doubled where it operates in California. After the rate hike in January, customers pay an average 39.6 cents per kilowatt hour, compared to $0.21 per kilowatt hour in 2019. To put it in perspective, an average customer uses about 500 kilowatt hours per month, one kilowatt hour is the amount of energy it takes to power ten 100 watt light bulbs for an hour, so the average customer were paid $100 for power back in 2019. Now pays nearly twice that amount. Bills have been going up at a pace far beyond inflation and we're at a place now where PG and E's rates are, unfortunately, approaching the levels of Hawaii, but with a network of dams, a nuclear plant, abundant solar all tied to a multi-state power grid, Mike Campbell and other ratepayer watchdogs say our power should be much cheaper than Hawaii. So why do we now pay almost as much PG and E rates are clearly insane right now. Matt Friedman is an attorney with the ratepayer advocacy group Turn. He points to this analysis of the added costs borne by PG and E ratepayers. Ratepayers are now paying $0.06 more per kilowatt hour for wildfire efforts. That includes his plan to put power lines underground. There are $0.06 more per kilowatt hour to subsidize rooftop solar and $0.02 more per kilowatt hour for low income subsidies. It's low income customers in PG and E service territory are really facing a crisis of affordability . We saw 180,000 customers disconnected for nonpayment last year, and about a third of PG and E low income customers are late in paying their bills. Right now, state regulators have proposed one way to make bills more affordable. It involves charging an income based monthly fee to account for fixed costs, while trimming rates per kilowatt hour. We're in a race for the highest rates in the nation, and that is an ignominious prize to win. But critics like former CPUc President Loretta Lynch say many customers don't use enough power, even at a discount, to make up for the proposed standard $24 monthly fee. People who rent apartments, people who are in smaller units, people in urban areas where usually the footprint of the house is smaller, are going to pay more, period. Besides, she says, any benefit wouldn't last long as PG and E already has approval for rates to go up even higher next year. Lynch says the only long term solution is for regulators to limit PG and E spending. I'm not as worried about beating a Hawaiian becoming the most expensive state for electricity in the nation. I'm worried about it continuing for the next 5 to 10 years. At this rate, PG and E says it knows the current structure isn't fair to low income customers. It has sought a $75 monthly fixed fee, but with greater discounts. PG and E says any change will take time. And although PGE says rates should go up about $50 per month this year to pay for bearing 1200 miles of lines and other wildfire investments, ratepayers may see some relief as soon as next year thanks to cost cutting. It's achieved as it already is. Cut fire risk by 94. We are working hard to have average bills decrease in 2025 and 2026 compared to this year, even as these investments continue to pay off in greater safety and reliability for our customers, the utility says. The CPUc is slated to consider the rate change proposal as soon as next month. Jaxon Vanderbeken, NBC Bay Area News. There's a lot of frustration from PG and E customers. Tomorrow, I will be sitting down with the CEO of PG and E, Patty Poppy in a
