On Tuesday morning, a group calling itself Reclaim Our Power protested in front of the PG&E San Ramon Conference Center while the power corporation was inside holding a meeting with regulators from the office of California Governor Gavin Newsom on wildfire mitigation.
The Governor’s Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety, which is in charge of monitoring the utility company that is to blame for some of our state’s worst wildfires, spoke at the conference that was sponsored by PG&E, according to the Reclaim Our Power organization.
The organization is pleading with these regulators to cease approving the utility’s lethal and pricey plans. Here, ratepayers also demonstrated against recent outages and rising costs.
They claim that their rates increase as a result of each significant wildfire caused by PG&E and argue that they shouldn’t be accountable for the financial burden.
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PG&E Rate Hikes
The demonstration also targeted the company’s rate increases after this winter’s spike in natural gas prices put bills through the roof.
In addition, PG&E is requesting approval from the California Public Utilities Commission for a 16% rate hike, which will be used mostly to cover ongoing wildfire costs.
The Utility Reform Network claims that when all proposed hikes are added together, the actual percentage is closer to 32%. In reaction to the protest, PG&E issued a statement outlining the steps it is doing to deliver secure and consistent energy and citing its 2022 wildfire mitigation strategy as an example.
The company announced that it will submit an updated plan later this month and that many of the measures it took had proven successful in reducing the risk of wildfires.
“We are working hard every day to reduce the danger of wildfires,” it said, “and we welcome comments from our regulators, stakeholders, community leaders, and consumers because we know this improves us and makes us safer.”
It isn’t enough for the protesters unless the power is maintained, the price increases halt, and the flames are put out.
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