California regulator allows PG&E rate hike for wildfire mitigation

(Reuters) -The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) on Thursday voted unanimously to pass the alternate proposed decision (APD) that would raise customer bills by nearly 13% in Pacific Gas and Electric’s General Rate Case.

The state’s biggest utility, PG&E (NYSE:), serves more than 16 million people across 70,000 square miles in Northern and Central California. The company in its General Rate Case review on revenue requirements for 2023-2026 moved to raise revenue by nearly 26% in the 2023 test year.

The APD set the 2023 revenue requirement at $13.52 billion, reflecting an 11% increase from 2022.

According to the regulator, customers would see an increase of $32.62 on their bills, compared with PG&E’s request of $38.73.

PG&E had requested a near 15% increase in customer bills, saying it would invest more than half of the requested revenue requirement for its wildfire risk management plans.

CPUC judges had earlier suggested raising revenue by 11% or 13% from 2022.

However, PG&E said in October this year it does not see either decisions suggested by the CPUC as sufficient, adding it was falling short of providing the funding to accomplish the necessary safety work it has proposed on behalf of customers.

One of the main wildfire mitigation efforts PG&E has been undertaking is undergrounding, or burying power lines. This lessens the need for public safety power shutoffs — a last resort during dry, windy conditions to reduce the risk of sparking a wildfire.

In 2021, PG&E had said it would bury 10,000 miles of power lines in high-risk fire zones as a safety measure after its equipment caused multiple destructive wildfires over several years.

So far in 2023, the company said 197 miles of powerlines had been undergrounded and energized as of Oct. 30. The end-of-the-year target is 350 miles.

The APD has authorized 1,230 miles of undergrounding.