SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – San Diegans are soon going to see higher electric and gas rates after the California Public Utilities Commission approved proposed rate increases for San Diego Gas & Electric Thursday.
According to the CPUC, the typical customer will see a 2.6% increase. On your monthly bill, that's about $4.38.
Additionally, the gas rate is going up by 1.8%, and the CPUC said that works out to about $1 more each month.
San Diego resident Kaitlin Kennedy said of the price increases, "I'm not pleased about it. Gas is already pretty expensive here, and my electric bill just last month, because it was like ‘cold’ here in San Diego, it doubled. I'm not happy about it."
Kennedy, who moved to San Diego in 2020 from Las Vegas, said her cost of living has been three times more when it comes to rent and utilities.
"This is already a very expensive place to live," said San Diego City Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera. "Energy costs are one of the factors that go into making San Diego so expensive, along with housing and transportation, pretty much everything else … so, yeah, any increase is going to be felt by folks."
Elo-Rivera is head of the newly formed Cost of Living Committee with the City of San Diego.
Elo-Rivera said when he was council president, he put pressure on SDG&E and asked them to come to city council meetings. He said when it comes to utility rates, it's important for San Diegans to make their voices heard with the California Public Utilities Commission.
"San Diegans are finding it more and more difficult to see a future here and that is because of the cost of living," he said. “And SDG&E has a responsibility to San Diegans to not be so cavalier about raising rates.”
In public documents, SDG&E cited the need to modernize electrical and gas equipment, replace old and damaged lines, and other factors as reasons for the proposed rate increases.
In a statement to ABC 10News, an SDG&E spokesperson said, in part: "We believe this decision strikes the right balance, allowing SDG&E to more affordably provide the service our customers deserve and expect."
As for residents like Kennedy, she said she's not alone in her frustration.
"A lot of my friends feel the same way. We don't want to leave, but we're eventually going to be priced out," said Kennedy.
