San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) submitted its 2024-2027 budget proposal to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) Tuesday.
Regulated utilities in California are required to file a general rate cases (GRC) every four years, which outlines their capital investments and forecasted costs for operations and maintenance. If approved, the average residential customer could expect a monthly electric bill increase of about $9 in 2024 compared to 2023 and a monthly natural gas bill increase of about $9.60 compared to 2023. The new rates take effect on Jan. 1, 2024.
The proposal includes investments to safeguard energy reliability against growing climate threats, reduce emissions, and build a clean energy future.
“Average electric bills at our company are the lowest among California’s electric investor-owned utilities, but we also recognize this is a difficult time to ask our customers to pay more given the state of the economy and inflationary pressures and are mindful of every dollar that we ask our customers to pay. Given the changes in climate and the growing need for a clean energy future, this will ultimately result in improvements that create long-term benefits now and for future generations,” SDG&E President Bruce Folkmann said. “The budget proposal we put forth represents the conscientious efforts of hundreds of SDG&E employees to strike the right balance between holding down costs and making the infrastructure investments needed for a clean energy future.”
Among the major investments outlined in the proposal, SDG&E plans to modernize the electric grid to integrate significantly more solar and wind generation, residential and commercial-scale battery storage, EV charging, and customer transition from natural gas to electric appliances.
It also seeks to expand the electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure throughout the region; install more utility-scale battery systems to maximize the use of solar energy; develop additional clean fuel sources, such as green hydrogen for transportation and electric generation, and reduce wildfire risk and minimize shutoffs by hardening 590 miles of power lines.
Further, it proposes to cut the risk of power outages by adopting grid automation and remote sensing tools and replacing aging or failure-prone equipment; implementing the next generation of smart meters; upgrading microgrids with zero-emissions energy resources; strengthening cybersecurity and technology; and accelerating the replacement of aging plastic, natural gas pipelines.
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