SAN DIEGO (NEWS 8) – The San Diego heat has been driving some people crazy over the past few weeks.
It has also been driving up a lot of SDG&E bills, and not just for homeowners but businesses are feeling the effects too.
Businesses cannot turn power off during peak hours.
C’s Ice Cream and Deli in Scripps Ranch has been in business for 30 years. The owner, Anastasia Scheideman, said August’s SDG&E bill was higher than it has ever been before. “It was around $1,200. In the winter months it will be five, six-hundred-dollars. I try not to think about it because it will just bring you down.”
Scripps Ranch Liquor is facing the same issue. Paul Kato said their bill has almost doubled from a year ago. “What we see now, this has been the highest we have ever paid for an electric bill.”
Kato said he doesn’t even run his air conditioning, but his bill “use to average $1,800, now it is almost $3,000. I can’t afford it!”
Both businesses said they are taking the hit with no other power option.
Kato called SDG&E a monopoly.
Scheideman and Kato said their customers have not had to suffer the consequences of higher bills. “We can’t pass it on to customers," they said.
The higher cost means less profit, which may not be sustainable for the entire year. Both business owners said they are holding their breaths for either cooler days or less expensive energy.
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