California Regulators Consider Adding $24 Fixed Fee to Utility Bills | KQED

Loretta Lynch, former president of the CPUC, said on KQED’s Forum that it would hurt coastal dwellers in apartments and small houses, who don’t use a lot of air conditioning.

“That means virtually all low-income customers in San Francisco and Oakland, and maybe even farther than that — those people are going to pay more,” she said.

However, Cynthia Martinez, spokesperson for the Predictable Power Coalition, which includes California’s three biggest utility companies, argued that a flat rate would lower costs for families struggling to pay their bills.

“For people who live in hotter climates, who really have no choice but to run their air conditioning more often, they’re paying higher costs that go toward grid upkeep,” Martinez said. Separating electricity usage costs from the cost to maintain the grid, she added, is more equitable and “will provide fairness.”

Questions remain over incentive to electrify

Right now, in California, if you use a lot of electricity, you pay more. If you live an energy-efficient lifestyle, you pay less. Sylvie Ashford, an energy analyst for The Utility Reform Network, or TURN, said that won’t change.

The group supports the new proposal, which Ashford said would incentivize people to convert to clean energy.

“Consumers report one of the biggest barriers to buying electric vehicles and electric heat pumps to be the high and rising cost of electricity,” Ashford said. “When it becomes 8% to 10% cheaper on each kilowatt hour, your operating costs on your electric vehicle or your electric heat pump become that much more competitive with polluting gas alternatives.”