r/bayarea • u/Prestigious-Hour6707 • 3d ago
YOOO PG&E WTF Work & Housing
800sq foot apartment. 2 people. Are. You. Kidding. Me.
Called PG&E to tell them they made a mistake. They said “hmm no it looks like the meter is working fine. Nothing we can do, that’s the price.”
No appliance change. No lifestyle changes. And even if we had, how the F*CKK could a 1bd apartment create a $630 bill?? Also yes, the previous bill. On me for not checking our auto payments. Just assumed they wouldn’t be more than $120….!? Dumb assumption on my part
I hate PG&E.
I know it’s a hostile statement. But I think we can all agree an exception can be made for PG&E…
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u/portmanteaudition 3d ago
What's the actual usage difference (you didn't show it) and what's the explanation?
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u/monarc 2d ago
OP's top post:
No appliance change.
OP's follow-up comment:
[currently using electric heaters, vs.] Last year we had steam radiators paid by the building, hence the MASSIVE difference in usage.
What are we even doing here?
Just to be clear: PG&E sucks, Newsom sucks, and corporate capture of government sucks at all levels.
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u/relevantelephant00 2d ago
OP is rage-baiting. It works very well on this sub.
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u/Pandonia42 2d ago edited 2d ago
Eh, regardless.... heating a 2 bedroom apartment should not cost a significant portion of your rent. Particularly when that utility company is raking in record profits while driving up rate hikes and taking out loans to update infrastructure that is a 100 years old and tends to light the state on fire every summer
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u/relevantelephant00 2d ago
Yeah well I certainly agree with that...it's preposterous that PG&E gets away with this shit. But rage-baiting on this sub always turns political and yet for some reason I rarely see people clambering to elect a true progressive who isnt beholden to corporate monopolies. This sub loves to complain but rarely offers alternatives to their boogeyman (Newsom).
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u/Pandonia42 2d ago
My personal belief is that you can not change a corrupt system by working within the system
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u/Confirmation_Email 2d ago
If OP's place used to be heated by steam radiators, it likely has 50-100 year old insulation, windows, and doors. If their heating used to be included, they're probably used to keeping it hot and toasty in all weather. If their neighbors have been managing their usage better and kept their places significantly cooler, then OP's apartment would literally be losing heat from every side, which is extremely expensive when you're using a cost-intensive heating method like resistive electric.
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u/WockySlushie 2d ago
OP is actually an idiot though, this bill is 100% their fault. Electric heaters are one of the most expensive ways to heat a living space.
Im currently paying ~300 a month to heat a whole house using two wall mounted heat pumps units. My thermostat is perpetually set to 72 and these things have been running nonstop this winter.
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u/nextcardplease 1d ago
Better than centeal heating? First year home owner here. Hate that we have to heat all rooms.
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u/WockySlushie 1d ago
It’s going to depend on your rates.
Heat pumps vs gas heating is going to be a tossup depending on pricing.
Heat pumps vs electric heater is a landslide victory for heat pumps. Expect a ~40% lower electric usage with a heat pump.
Central forces air can be either a heat pump or a gas burner.
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u/Drapabee 2d ago
I don't know how heating a 2 bedroom apartment in the bay even CAN cost that much. I live in a divided up old ass Victorian with piss poor insulation. I wear sweats and a cozy robe, and have a heat pad to sleep on with lots of covers. There's a space heater if I really need it, but I think I've used it like twice this whole month.
Where are they living that it gets cold enough for a bill that high?
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u/portmanteaudition 2d ago
The rates are literally mostly paying for anti fire measures, more extreme weather than anticipated, and actual cost inflation of e.g. labor
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u/Pandonia42 2d ago
While also allowing for record-breaking profits and expansive bonuses. And zero responsibility to use past profits to update infrastructure
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u/Party-Independent-38 2d ago
PG&E CEO made a $14 million salary. :/ I honestly wonder if she has to pay for her power.
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u/Fuzzy-Masterpiece362 2d ago
PG&E just approved the 6th that's right SIXTH rate hike this year... also remember when they didn't maintain their power lines and paradise burned down. Oh also the exploded San Bruno. But don't worry you guys CEO for this company made a modest 17million dollar salary. Oh one last thing if you want to really learn a lot about how they fuck California's look up title 21 it's a deep dark rabit hole.
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u/IsamuAlvaDyson 2d ago
Karma Farming
r/bayarea posters all love the same posts
PG&E hate Traffic Saying there is no better place in the country Housing prices Being NIMBYs
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u/staypuft209 2d ago
Haha was up in Pinecrest earlier and saw a Newsom sucks sign. LOL’d at it because he sucked so bad he got put back in office again.
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u/jungleryder 2d ago
TLDR; The summary is that the OP is an idiot who used far too much electricity and was too dumb to analyze their bill.
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u/GB0GH 3d ago edited 2d ago
Back in 2000 when prices when crazy, I paid my bill by check and wrote it out to Price Gougers and Extortionists, they cashed my checks for 2 billing cycles before they told me I miswrote the payee line.
They’re still the same now. They mismanage their network for decades and then make customers pay for the fix when the money for reinvestment went to pay shareholder dividends. The state needs to take over the utility and replace every member of the Pubic Utilities Commission that allowed the increased rates.
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u/HumanityHasFailedUs 2d ago
Read “California Burning”. A state takeover is not nearly as simple as it sounds. It’s something I’d love to see as well, but it’s very complicated. I had no idea how fucked up PGE is until I read that book.
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u/coppertech 2d ago
A state takeover is not nearly as simple as it sounds.
its actually in the California constitution, except PG$E will take you to court and try to run you into bankruptcy. it took sac over 20 years in court battles to take over PG$E's lines.
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u/HumanityHasFailedUs 2d ago
That’s only part of it, but yes. The other part is the law stating that utilities are liable for any damage caused, and that would make the state liable for any lawsuits. That’s a potential HUGE problem.
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u/Fuzzy-Masterpiece362 2d ago
The government is already in they're pocket read about title 21 it allows independent energy producers to sell energy only to pg&e and only at whatever rate they choose it's a complete monopoly
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u/Haunting-Garbage-976 3d ago
They are incredibly full of it. They are so corrupt for this and many other reasons
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u/ricLP 2d ago
Dude changed to electric heating since last year (check their other comments). What a mystery!
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u/fossuser 2d ago
People are so dumb, OP starts using huge amounts of energy for resistive electric heating and complains the price is high - no shit? Then the rest of the comments are calling for execution.
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u/ricLP 2d ago
It’s super interesting to see these kinds of mobs forming. Fortunately this is “only” online, but it goes to show how dumb and easy to manipulate people are, with their knee jerk reactions
Also very little education regarding energy, and almost no one ever comments on improving the house
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u/fossuser 2d ago
It’s the same with dumb comments about insurance too - people don’t understand how it works. I wish it was only online, but this stupidity leads to public executions and destructive policy.
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u/relevantelephant00 2d ago
This sub is highly politically charged when it comes to Newsom posts and it bleeds over into PG&E posts (rightly so). But people who post rage-bait are also very disingenuous. I wonder if OP thinks we need a regime change to a Republican governor...I've heard this from people who resent Newsom. Hey idiots, take a wild guess what would happen if a Republican was in charge of this state.
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u/oneblank 2d ago
Is it tho? I’m a democrat. Newsoms administration authored the bill that allowed pge to recover wildfire losses from taxpayers. He’s been publicly saying he will stop rate hikes since 2019 but has yet to stop one. AB 1054 was a disgusting bailout for PGE. Newsom literally picked a law firm (without competitive bidding) that had represented PGE to draft the bail out and the tax payers paid $9mil for them to write the law that BAILED OUT PGE. PGE was the second highest contributor to Newsoms campaign and Newsom has received close to a million in “advertising services” from PGE. Newsom approved the appointment of a PGE lawyer to the CPUC that is supposed to regulate PGE. Democrats and Republicans alike can see the corruption.
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u/relevantelephant00 2d ago
Who's more likely to reign in PGE, a GOP stooge running on de-regulation or a progressive who has the balls to reign in a corporate monopoly? I'd love to hear some choices, instead of the same Newsom rants we've heard thousands of times.
And Republicans support corruption so let's not pretend both sides are the same, ok?
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u/oneblank 2d ago
I agree. I’m not saying both sides are the same. I’m saying it doesn’t take someone with political bias to call out corruption when it is so blatantly obvious. Newsom IS corrupt when it comes to PGE. Literally anyone else would have a better chance at reigning in the corporate monopoly that is PGE because Newsom will not do it. Period. That said yea. Republican candidates are much more likely to do the same.
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u/DarkMenstrualWizard 2d ago
$9mil... damn. 0.2%, not 2%, zero point two percent, of that would pay my rent and PG&E for a year. The whole thing would support 500 people with similar rent situations.
My living expenses are much lower than average. $9mil would only pay about 10-12 people's average yearly salary where I live now. But where I used to live not too long ago? $9mil could completely transform the lives of hundreds of people. When I got pandemic UI, the first time in my life I knew, 100% the rent would get paid for a while, I up and went to college, and now next year I'll be going to university.
That's the kinda shit I think about when I hear seven figure bullshit being tossed around. Damn.
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u/Golden_Hour1 3d ago
Didn't the CEO make 50 million dollars last year
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u/Bagafeet 2d ago
Not enough yachts bro why y'all so stingy towards the poor oligarchs? 🙃
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u/KeyClear560 2d ago
that is not going to lower the bill, we need more consumer advocates in cpuc.
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u/No_Sweet4190 2d ago
The governor appoints the CPUC. We can do an initiative so more than half the appointees cannot be former employees of a utility company. No stockholders either due to conflict of interest.
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u/Prestigious-Hour6707 3d ago
Agreed. For years I’ve been saying my obituary will real read “hated PG&E and fastrak with a burning passion”
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u/HumanityHasFailedUs 2d ago
Read “California Burning” unless you just want to continue making sound bite statements like most everyone else here.
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u/JeanLucTheCat 2d ago
I haven't heard of this book, but its on my read list now. Despite the improvement of PG&E grid, visible in the foothills and sierras, utility companies IMO should not be for profit or publicly traded.
"In the mid-2000s the company promised to increase earnings per share by at least 7.5% a year for the next five years, “far outpacing most other utilities.” In the five years to early 2019 the company paid out close to $4.5 billion in dividends. This, unfortunately, appears to have come at the expense of making sure that wildfires do not start."
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u/HumanityHasFailedUs 2d ago
I learned a ton from the book. I’m not by any means defending the situation, I just have a better understanding of how nearly impossible it’s become to fix. I agree that public utilities should be non-profit and never traded.
Nearly all companies did that stock buyback/dividends thing in the last ten years. Look at Boeing.
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u/Jeveran 3d ago
The CPUC approved SIX rate hikes this year for Pigs Goats & Elephants.
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u/Hyndis 3d ago
You have to hand it to PG&E for figuring out the best ROI imaginable. They gave Newsom and his wife around a million dollars over the years, and that amount of money has paid for itself many, many, many times over.
Newsom is a cheap date, willing to sell out the state for not a lot of money.
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u/Precarious314159 3d ago
With Newsom not returning in 2026, I wonder how much favorability a candidate would have if they announced one of their promises was to tackle PG&E and the CPUC.
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u/Popular_Mongoose_738 Fresno Tourist 2d ago
I await the inevitable ballot initiative and the CPUC's Pikachu face. Or the impending lawsuit that will somehow invalidate it.
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u/unpopulartoast 3d ago
seriously, this is ridiculous. this is blatant corruption and abuse of power and everyone’s just like, “fuck pg&e!?”
does anyone have links or know of people organizing together to figure out a way to combat this? this is pure evil and unacceptable.
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u/Golden_Hour1 3d ago
Well, there was a solution recently. But it ain't allowed
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u/unpopulartoast 3d ago
i’m being serious. there must be people organizing and trying to figure out how to stop this madness that doesn’t involve violence.
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u/marviless25 3d ago
From what I've been trying to search I only found file a complaint. I don't even think that gets anywhere unless millions of people file the same complaint.
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u/jfkfpv 3d ago
Find easy ways to reduce your energy use and save money at www.pge.com/tips /s
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u/dak4f2 3d ago
I was feeling a deep FU-- YOU
Until I saw the /s
Sneaky
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u/jfkfpv 3d ago
Almost didn't put it there :-) glad I did
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u/rabbitwonker 2d ago
Though it turns out this is exactly what would help OP. They had free steam heating last year, and now they have electric resistive heating — and probably a habit of setting the thermostat really high. 🤣
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u/FeistyThunderhorse 3d ago
"For every degree you lower your thermostat during the winter, you can save 1% annually on your bill." Lmao these tips wouldn't even make a dent in a bill like OPs
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u/avoidy 3d ago
I went away for two weeks to visit family in Florida. Literally wasn't home. All the lights were off, everything unplugged. PG&E bill for that month when I wasn't even home was somehow higher than last month's.
They just dream up a number and bill us. What're we gonna do, switch to another provider? Fuck PG&E. Steals money from average folks and then burns down their towns. I hope they burn one day.
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u/Speculawyer 2d ago
Was the heating system and water heater turned off? That's what uses energy. LED lights use nearly nothing.
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u/blankenstaff 2d ago
I hate PG&e with every cell of my body, but. They do not just make up numbers. I know that because I track my electricity and gas usage like a mofo and I compare it to the billing.
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u/2brightside 2d ago
No but they make "mistakes".
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u/blankenstaff 2d ago
You're right. A couple weeks ago there was an outage on my block. Pg&e estimated my usage during that outage to be non-zero. Infuriating.
I have a smart meter, so my guess is that when they detect the smart meter not able to send data (because there's no power going to it because PG&e is down), they have written code that is faulty in that it estimates the usage rather than cross-checking to see if the power is out. Ridiculous.
Still, my mental health requires me not to think about these things as often as my tendency would dictate.
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u/Astral-American 2d ago edited 2d ago
Check your bill (easier if you have an online account) to see if your bill was/is being estimated.
If the answer is no to estimations of your electric and gas meter usage, call the 1-800# and ask to have your meters checked.
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u/DirtierGibson 2d ago
Yeah something is up here. You need to get that investigated.
You know you can visualize your energy consumption down to the hour on their website, right?
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u/AgitatedDoughnut23 3d ago
This month ours came in at 589…. And that was after turning all the heat down to 62, from the previous month which was around 350….. how can you turn shit off and things get more expensive????
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u/Ok-Juice-6857 3d ago
Idk if you realize but even if you turned the heat down, if it was colder that month the bill would be higher right? Like if its colder out your heater is going to run more to keep it at the temperature you choose even if it’s set lower than the Month before
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u/portmanteaudition 3d ago
No one is actually listing the amount of electricity or gas they're using and comparing it. I'm guessing its both a major consumption increase and pricing. However if these people were paying $400 let's say, a jump to $600 is within reason given the variability of weather this year and rate hikes due to fire prevention and weather variability as well.
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u/DirtierGibson 2d ago
These posts are super annoying because no one seems to be trying to figure out why it went up (or down), when sometimes you have the answer right there: rate change, time of day use, new appliances, changes in use, etc.
I am in no way defending PG&E. They can suck a dick. But in most cases the answer is right there on PG&E's website, where you can see your energy consumption down to the hour.
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u/jungleryder 2d ago
Most people whining here are dumb. Flat out stupid. They can't even read their PG&E bill past the "Amount due".
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u/AgitatedDoughnut23 3d ago
If you have mini splits in each room they can independently control temps in each room. Durring the day they are off, and at night they are set to a MAX of 64. And these last 2 weeks they have barely kicked on at all.
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u/tacobytes 2d ago edited 2d ago
Is this true for the Boiler? If the boiler is in the garage and it gets cold there, I am assuming it will run more to maintain the warm temperature, right?
Edit: I am adding the response ChatGPT gave me.
Yes, if your boiler is in a cold garage, it could increase your PG&E bill because the boiler will need to work harder to maintain the water at the set temperature. When the surrounding temperature is colder, heat loss from the boiler and the water it heats will occur faster, causing the boiler to cycle on more frequently to compensate.
Ways to Mitigate This: 1. Insulate the Boiler and Pipes: • Use insulation blankets for the boiler and pipe wraps for the hot water pipes to reduce heat loss. 2. Insulate the Garage: • Add insulation to the garage walls and ceiling to keep the space warmer. • Seal any gaps or drafts in the garage door and windows. 3. Install a Space Heater: • A small, efficient space heater can help maintain a moderate temperature in the garage, reducing the workload on the boiler. 4. Lower the Boiler Temperature (if possible): • Slightly lowering the water temperature (within safe limits) can reduce energy usage without drastically affecting performance.
Taking these steps could help manage your energy costs during colder months.
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u/Prestigious-Hour6707 3d ago
DUDE THIS!!! We have electric wall heaters. Turned that shit OFF as soon as we saw last month’s bill and haven’t turned them on since. Been freezing our asses off for over a month for more money? I.am.so.con.fused.and.pissed.off
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u/Clit_C0mmander San Jose 3d ago
I'm single guy living in a 1 bedroom apartment, I work 3-4 days per week and I'm gone 14hrs during those days and my bill came out to $240
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u/rabbitwonker 2d ago
You’re confused that resistive electric heating costs a lot more than the free heating you had last year? Ok…
If you want productive advice: look into heat pumps; those effectively raise the efficiency from 100% to like 400%+.
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u/smiling_corvidae 2d ago
how does that even work?
on another note, it is true that everything is 100% efficient in winter when you want heat. gotta find some crypto to mine or something? :p
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u/rabbitwonker 2d ago
Because it uses the electricity to move heat energy from the air outside to inside, rather than just being directly used as heat itself.
Air conditioners do the same thing, of course, in reverse; we just don’t usually make that kind of comparison, because, well, there’s no cooling equivalent to the direct heating methods. 😁
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3d ago
My bill costing $800 a month in the winter and $650 in the summer. Up hundreds from years before.
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u/DodgeBeluga 3d ago
Yep. Easily a 30% increase from a few years ago and no change in usage pattern.
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u/ohgeekayvee 3d ago
When we forced them to put their lines underground they decided to charge more. Solar is going to be needed at 12kWh to combat the price hike. The monopoly is real
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u/nrolloo 2d ago edited 2d ago
They didn't underground the lines because it was expensive. Now we forced them to do it. PG&E's profit is regulated, this is a completely natural consequence to forcing PG&e to make very expensive upgrades.
Notice delivery (the grid) costs twice as much as generation in op's bill.
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u/mtd14 2d ago
They didn't underground the lines because it was expensive. Now we forced them to do it.
Let's not skip the middle step here.
They didn't underground the lines because it was expensive and they wanted to pay out shareholders. Then they started fires that killed people and burned down towns. Now we forced them to do it.
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u/CallMeEggDaddy 3d ago
Same. Winter used to be $100 a month tops, usually closer to $60. I just bought a power meter to double check everything that’s plugged in because I don’t run heat in the winter and it’s ridiculous.
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u/Prestigious-Hour6707 3d ago
CallMeEggDaddy - this a great username hahaha. If you like your power meter, will you link it please? I think I need to get one - something is sucking up FAT loads of electricity and I gotta sleuth it out
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u/CallMeEggDaddy 3d ago
Yeah I will report back on how it works but this is the one I got for $17 on Amazon. Seemed popular.
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u/IwuvNikoNiko 2d ago
Expert here. Something like this is far, far more effective. Buy it instead! https://www.amazon.com/Monitoring-Compatible-SmartThings-Tapo-P115/dp/B0D7FZ97T5
Reason is you can track the actual usage via the Tapo iOS app and see how much electricity it sucked over a month (or more). That Killawatt-style device only tells you a single piece in time.
For example: fridge could take very little when you measure, then go ape shit and it wouldn't be an accurate representation.
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u/explodingsheep 3d ago
What’s your gas / electric usage for the month compared to last year’s?
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u/Unicycldev 2d ago
OP admitted in another comment they used more this month. The post is propaganda / incompetence.
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u/Pink-Witch- 3d ago
I’m trying to find alternatives to using my oven and stove rn
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u/PM_ME_UR_THONG_N_ASS 3d ago
It’s not a good situation, but I enjoy using a propane camping stove and charcoal grilling outside. Probably cheaper than what PG&E charges us…
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u/Background_South_963 3d ago
That can give you carbon monoxide poisoning and you best believe there won’t be an insurance payout for your distraught family members. Anyways, in other news, Free Luigi fuck the busters at PG&E
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u/Pink-Witch- 3d ago
I’m pretty sure using a rice cooker will not give me carbon monoxide poisoning, but yes, Free Luigi
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u/Totally_Not_My_50th_ 3d ago
Perpetually Gouging Everyone sucks, but you also had an electric heater going. Those use hella energy.
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u/Prestigious-Hour6707 3d ago
I feel like having a grow operation would have been cheaper than turning on the heat. Maybe those lamps would do more also.
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u/Conscious-Train-5816 2d ago
Grow lamps don’t use anywhere near the electricity for heating. A regular grow light is 20-40W…
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u/nuttertools 2d ago
…it would…even 4 x oldschool sodium lights would take less energy than your heater once they had warmed up.
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u/Haunting-Round-6949 3d ago
Gavin Newsome approves of your bill.
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u/yeast510 2d ago
Explain how this is his fault. It’s the policy makers, including the Public Utilities Commission that is allowing these rate hikes.
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u/OHMEGA_SEVEN 2d ago
The governor is responsible for appointing members to the CPUC. That being said, Newsom's most recent appointee is a CPUC watchdog. This was in February. Rate hikes are largely still being approved as well as an implementation of a flat rate charge.
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u/largehawaiian 2d ago
Saying that you hate PG&E isn't a hostile statement, it's just proof you live in the Bay Area.
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u/Pake1000 3d ago
I’m in an 850 sqft apartment and the highest my bill has ever been was $130 during the summer. My bill from November was $75. Do you run the heat on 24/7 at 80 F or something? PG&E is trash, but I can’t comprehend how your bill is that high.
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u/DoctorBritta 2d ago
He runs electric resistance heaters instead of the ones provided by the landlord now. There’s your problem
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u/EducationalOven8756 3d ago
Before we had the smart meter the bills were cheaper. And they had people coming to check the meter then. So they had more worker. Why is it more expensive now.
I opt out of the smart meter for $350 and $30 a month but they don’t even come check the meter. I know becuse I have cameras. And when the did they came ever other month. They estimate every other month. They didn’t charge my gas off the smart meter. They say there technician can’t access the meter it’s too tight, well guess what how did you switch it out when u put the smart meter in dummy, no point arguing with lazy people. My bill still is high but I’m sure it’s not as high as when it wasn’t smart meter. Don’t have old bills to compare usage but do have a gross summery via email.
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u/Sublimotion 2d ago edited 2d ago
Newsom: I've signed a legislation to prevent gasoline price spikes and save you and all Californians money to combat big oil, which is the real and only evil corporation victimizing the middle class in our great state. Let's focus on that for a second instead.
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u/AnjelicaTomaz 2d ago
This industry really needs to be de-monopolized. They broke up Ma Bell a few decades ago. They should do the same for gas/electricity. Is that even possible?
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u/Kidkilat 2d ago
It’s called 3rd world corruption. You Americans aren’t familiar with it. It looks like this. lol. Dorks.
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u/Numerous_Bend_5883 [Insert your city/town here] 3d ago
That is so not right! Is there a way you can appeal this?
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u/CRTsdidnothingwrong 3d ago
There's nothing to appeal that's just what it costs to heat (a probably poorly insulated) 800sqft with electric baseboards or space heaters.
Appeal to your California state government for 30 years of mismanaging energy policy.
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u/cerberus698 3d ago
Somehow it costs about 400-500 less dollars to heat an 1,100 square foot apartment that was built in the early 1900s as long as I do it in a municipal utility district =/
PG&E is insane. If I leave my MUD and go to a place with PG&E I need to be saving about 500 a year on rent for it to start breaking even.
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u/CRTsdidnothingwrong 3d ago
Part of the reason for that is that small and municipal utilities have largely been exempted or discounted from the state's energy policy that was applied to the big three. Green energy requirements, net metering, wildfire funding, forced selloffs of generating assets, decoupling, etc.
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u/eng2016a 2d ago
Exactly. The massive costs are because of the massive renewables energy policy being demanded
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u/kotwica42 3d ago
Are you using more electricity than this time last year? If so, how much more? Are you on a Time-of-Use plan and using a lot of electricity during peak hours?
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u/marniman 2d ago
Wait, what?? I live in a similarly sized apartment with the same number of people, and while my current bill is definitely higher than usual, it’s around $200. OP, I find it really hard to believe this is an accurate bill unless you’re mining crypto in your house or have an illegal grow operation. We live in a duplex-type building, and once we got a bill that was insanely high like this, and after investing, we realized that we were being charged for your neighbor’s usage as well as ours. It took a few months to correct, but I wonder if that could be happening to you too?
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u/SheLikesKarl 2d ago
It’s no longer a left vs right war. It’s an Up vs Down class war. Sad to say but all these new Luigi like individuals are being created if Americans keep getting squeezed of every penny. People are getting pissed.
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u/scarletpoodle 1d ago
PG&E is a monopoly that’s been completely unaccountable for mismanagement, CA can do better.
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u/WorkingRecording4863 3d ago
PG&E gets wild with their price hikes in the winter. They should really be investigated for this BS...it always stinks like consumer fraud.
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u/Golden_Hour1 3d ago
Has to be a mistake. This shouldn't be possible unless you're blasting the heat to 80 24/7
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u/Rebootkid 2d ago
You should post the utilization stats. I hate Plainly Graft & Extortion as much as the next person, but I once had a massive bill and it turned out I had a short in the sub panel.
Ended up with a small fire.
So, like it could be that PG&E sucks. Could be something bad. If your usage numbers aren't adding up how you think, check to make sure you've not got something shorted.
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u/multifacetedfaucet 2d ago
I smell a class action lawsuit against pg&e for gouging in the works… 🤔🤔🤔
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u/russellvt 2d ago
It's time for the CEO's annual bonus. Maybe they can top their prior $53M paycheck, this year!
/s
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u/Dizzy_Lawfulness2315 2d ago
OP provide please provide some data how much energy (kwh) did you use this year versus last?
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u/righty95492 2d ago
You can thank the over-site committee that is to support the customer for allowing an increase after PE&E claimed they were losing money. After the committee approved the hike rate, PG&E posted record profit and gave themselves a nice bonus. Can’t make this shit up. We know who’s controlling this committee. Where is Gavin in all of this?
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u/daysleaper430 2d ago
I can tell you it’s no better in Southern Virginia near Christiansburg. My winter bills run 650-800 dollars..It’s a travesty
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u/HoneyBee777 2d ago
You have to examine all charges on your bill. Several years ago, PG&E inexplicably tacked on my neighbor’s energy usage onto my bill. They did this for three months before fixing it. Maybe this happened to you?
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u/No_Canary_5479 2d ago
PG&E had my meter and neighbor’s one swapped for something like 4 years… took me going out of town for a month to realize it. (And then confirmed by flipping the shutoffs and observing which unit lost power.) Took PG&E THREE visits to confirm it. First two maintenance guys were completely unwilling to admit that PG&E might be wrong and refused to even do a simple shutoff test because it was impossible 🙄
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u/cdegallo 2d ago
Just assumed they wouldn’t be more than $120….!?
But your previous month bill was $369--why would you assume this month it wouldn't be more than $120?
That being said, you could have a parasitic device, or someone else is using your circuit, or your roommate is running a crypto miner or something. Turn off and unplug all of the electrical devices you know of. Then check it an hour later (or longer), and the meter reading shouldn't have changed. If it did, then there's something using your circuit that shouldn't be. For the next month, note the meter reading the dates that pg&e uses for assessing your bill and verify the power usage difference on your meter matches your billing statement.
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u/HumanityHasFailedUs 2d ago
Everyone in PGE’s service area needs to read “California Burning” for a real understanding of just how fucked up this company is, and has been for over 100 years. The rates WILL continue to rise. There is no alternative as long as this is an investor owned utility, as long as climate change continues to worsen, which will help to create more and larger fires. This company is completely and entirely fucked.
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u/zilvrado 2d ago
Every time I see PGE post here, I feel a little less bad about my long commute from non PGE coverage area.
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u/ChadTheDJ Petaluma 2d ago
Please take your anger and use it to vote more people in that support public utilities. I am starting to turn personally into a single issue voter over how badly PG&E has been not regulated to get away with murder (both literally and figuratively).
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u/FrostyStatistician89 2d ago
Yall dunking on Texas but they have a free market energy system and you pay literally 1/8th of this cost. Or go to another energy provider…
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u/DinnerVanMan 2d ago
Thankfully, California is banning natural gas, that should help with electricity costs. It will get better soon 🙏
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u/ProfessorNice3195 2d ago
lol. The Chinese curse. May you get what you wished for (Gavin and all his friends)
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u/im_not_a_numbers_guy 2d ago
I had this happen when I got a $900 power bill from them. Turns out, they hadn’t been checking the meter regularly since our place was remodeled. When they finally did, they just made up the numbers over several months. It took me 5 transfers and 6 hours to get it worked out, but i said “fraud” a lot and eventually they credited me back the entire payment.
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u/americanyon 2d ago
Biden just gave PG&E $15 billions for being such a great company.
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u/IdekWhatDoingHere 2d ago
PG&E is just god awful honestly. Now I see why when I was growing up my parents were mad at the electric bill every month. This makes me want to go back to SDGE. My bill used to be $75 in the winter with them and that was not even 2yrs ago. Now with PG&E $150+ in the winter and $200+ in the summer even though my apartment is damn near a copy+paste of my previous apartment in SD county.
It’s ridiculous that they went through a huge lawsuit and now the customers are the ones getting punished for it. I swear the more money these corporations make, the more greedy they get. It disgusts me. I’m not a socialist by any stretch of the imagination but how much more money could they possibly need???
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u/OpenRoadMusic 2d ago
Better start wearing sweaters more often or this will be the norm. Use space heaters as well but I know not to use more than 4 hours and turn off before I go to sleep.
Not saying this isnt highway robbery. We live California so we're always getting nickled and dimed constantly. I love this state but getting tired of being robbed everywhere and will move when I can.
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u/Fit-Company-9792 2d ago
Slick hair and his friends are not looking out for the people of CA. Wait until they switch us all to "clean energy" to save the planet.
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u/OkCondition5697 2d ago
Think about it......do you think that piece of shit newsom even knows what his PGE bill is? I doubt it
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u/Automatic_Tea6073 2d ago
IDK, maybe someone can clarify, but how much is going towards green energy vs maintenance? Also, someone has to pay for all the lawsuits.
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u/Dark_Mith 2d ago
What was the usage(not $$ amount) for this month last year? (If you were not living there pge should be able to tell you)
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u/janik_kaspar 2d ago
You were charged $430 to deliver power on lines that have been there for years. We’re really just paying for their lawsuits. No more private utilities!
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u/PowerofIntention Peninsula 1d ago
My friend had an issue where the apartment next to his was using the electricity from his apartment and it caused spikes in his bills. Ask your neighbors how much their bills are.
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u/Retroviridae6 3d ago
My bill was $808. I have gas central heating, water heating, and a gas dryer. I had them come out last week and they told me it must be the pool filter. Insane.
My bills during the summer were nearly $2000, keeping the ac at 78-80.
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u/Background_South_963 3d ago edited 3d ago
I paid $230 this month for my 5bd 3bath 3k sqft in Antioch. Last month was about $150. We ran the (gas) downstairs heat for like 12 hours a week this month that’s why. $628 is insane
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u/blingblingmofo 3d ago
You unplug all your electronics when not in use? Should be pretty minimal savings compared to heat usage.
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u/Background_South_963 3d ago
Yeah i edited it out of embarrassment but yeah i am legit fucking crazy lol
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u/Prestigious-Hour6707 2d ago edited 1d ago
Update: okay I was NOT expecting the engagement this is getting…and I have been very humbled (to say the least) so let me clarify a few things please.
The TLDR: do not be like me - check your PG&E bill before it’s too late.
There seem to be some comments thinking this is political? I feel like hating PG&E should honestly bring citizens together, unite us as one nation. This is not political lol
“No Appliance Change” - I messed up, wall heaters are considered appliances. My bad. We are renters, we don’t control these big changes. In my dumb mind I was thinking more like “we didn’t buy a big ass freezer or wine fridge”
The Wall Heaters: the gd wall heaters. Yes. They are electric. No, they do not have any dial or degree setting. Just on or off. No, they do not to produce any real heat.
Our apartment is surprisingly well insulated- we didn’t (now we will NEVER) use the wall heaters often
We do not use space heaters
The apartment is a 1 bedroom. 800 square feet.
We do not have activities that require lots of electricity. Our lifestyle has not changed (depressingly so) since 2023. Whatever the usage was for $99 in 2023 is our daily lives today.
For you fact seekers (I say this lovingly because you are correct I should have attached this) I’m trying to figure out how to attach it… And before you eat me alive for the absolutely outrageous numbers you’re about to see, I need you to understand I AM AN IDIOT AND I HAVE NO IDEA HOW WE ARE USING THIS MUCH ELECTRICITY I DIDNT EVEN KNOW THIS WAS POSSIBLE. WE DO NOT EVEN RUN THE HEATERS OFTEN AND NOW WILL NEVER TOUCH THEM
THE MORAL OF THE STORY: do not be like me. Check your PG&E bill.
EDIT: I will surely regret sharing this with the reddit world, but I will keep my word. Here are the cost screenshots YoY w/ C02 footprint (you get the picture): https://imgur.com/a/cr5gQvG
Since living in this apartment, we've never worried about our PG&E bill (see YoY bills above), hence never checking it. Last month our neighbors mentioned their bill doubled with their heaters. With this news we turned ours off. Too little too late.
These are the heaters our property management installed March 2024 https://www.eheat.com/envi-max-120v-hardwire-electric-panel-wall-heater-1000-watts/ I would not recommend based on personal experience.
Once again, the moral of the story is: check your PG&E bill; even if historically you've never use a lot of electricity, and your bill is barely higher than $100, shit can change fast, and they will not tell you (why would they).
PS we're currently working/fighting with them because we're pretty sure our building's electricity is attached to our meter. Just check your bills.
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u/monarc 2d ago
Your new wall heaters seem useless, or at least insanely inefficient. My place has a super inefficient furnace, so we use plug in electric space heaters and they work well without using a ton of energy. Good luck!
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