Zapped
The PG&E-owned Public Utilities Commission approved a PG&E rate hike last Thursday that will add about $5 a month to the average bill, and it could begin as soon as next month.
Why are Californians continuing to pay for inept “leadership” at PG&E? Why is the governor packing the CPUC with compliant members at the expense of a coherent energy plan?
First, there was the SmartGrid initiative, which led to SmartMeter (not successful as rates increased), then “improvements” to the power grid (CAISO), again not successful as rates went up again, and now a “flat” user rate, which hurts the poor and those on limited incomes.
This is needed (says the CPUC), as previous efforts were not successful, and ratepayers had to pick up the shortfall from a lack of quality programs authored by incompetent PG&E and an equally ineffectual CPUC and cowardly governor, beholden to out-of-state investors who are guaranteed a posted rate of return.
California should terminate PG&E and make PG&E a state-run utility.
Gary Sciford
Santa Rosa
Couldn’t agree more. Profit-driven public utilities, where they dictate their own profits via a captive PUC, need to go. That or the CPUC needs a complete reset.