SAN DIEGO — San Diego City Council members sounded off on high SDG&E rates during their meeting on Tuesday.
The utility company gave a presentation as part of its franchise agreement with the city.
Every year, SDG&E is required to disclose its rates, what's behind them, and what next year could look like before the city council.
"One the commitments we made was to be a more transparent company," said Scott Crider, a senior vice president with SDG&E.
Crider began his presentation with some good news.
Right now, natural gas prices are much lower compared to earlier this year, thanks to warmer weather, more storage, and less volatility in the world market.
“Natural gas prices change very single month and so I don’t know what January’s gas prices are gonna be yet til the end of December. What I will say is the December rate where we sit today is at 56 cents a therm per natural gas. To put that in context, in January, it was $3.45,” said Crider.
Crider went on to explain delivery rates for electricity are also down, in part because fewer customers are enrolled in public purpose programs, and electricity sales are up 7%. That's expected to lower people's bills by five dollars in January.
Following Crider’s remarks, the public had a chance to share their thoughts.
Two people spoke including one woman who applauded the decrease, but asked SDG&E to do more, as well as former state assembly member Lori Saldana.
“A billion dollars of profit out of our community into the pockets of an oil and gas cooperation. It is destroying our economic vitality,” said Saldana.
Next, it was the council's turn to respond. Most members noted how high SDG&E rates are.
“They are the highest in the nation. People cannot afford them in San Diego,” said District Five Councilwoman Marni Von Wilpurt.
Von Wilpert pointed out a recent state audit which found while there are valid reasons for SDG&E’s rates, the key one being wildfire mitigation, the utility's profits exceeded millions more than what was authorized by the California Public Utilities Commission.
Though legal, Von Wilpert said it's wrong.
“You do have to make a profit, I understand that. At the same time, you don't have to gouge our customers,” she said.
Von Wilpert and Crider went back and forth, as did other council members who questioned if the utility was working in the best interest of its customers.
"Do you think you've done enough to make sure we don't see a tripling of a therm, come January first,” asked Councilmember Raul Campillo
“We've done everything we can,” replied Crider.
No action was taken at the meeting. It was simply SDG&E presenting their side and the council and public voicing their opinions and asking questions.
Council members say it’s their way of keeping tabs on SDG&E, even though they don't have the power to change the way they operate their business.
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