In a unprecedented move, California utility companies have presented a plan that would force residents toward socialized utility bills.
If enacted, monthly utility costs will no longer be determined based on the usage each residence incurs every month, but rather based on your annual income. Meaning, customers who may have consumed less energy in a month, will be forced to pay more to cover the expense of someone who reportedly cannot afford to pay their share.
The presented plan from Californians utility companies is in response to a new state law requiring them to come up with a fix-rate bill base on customers’ bills annual income – not how they have operated in the past with actual electricity and water usage rates.
San Diego Gas & Electric, PG&E and Southern California Edison filed a joint proposal with California’s Public Utilities Commission that, if accepted, would fix the utility rate on income per household.
The fixed-rate proposal is as follows:
- less than $28,000 – $15 a month
- $28,000 – $69,000 – $20 a month
- $69,000 – $180,000 – $51 a month
- over $180,000 – $85 a month
The state of Californian is one of the most expensive U.S. states in which to live and is in the top-five for most-expensive utilities in America, about $200 a month. If this forced distribution of expenses proposed measures passes, could be a trend that spreads across the country.
SDG&E, believes this move might reduce the energy usage in California by 42% and could potentially create additional bill savings.
The proposal must be approved by the California Public Utilities Commission by 2024. If the proposal passes, the bill rates could change as soon as 2025.