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Jun 14, 2024

PG&E’s 2024 Rate Increases Explained

On January 1, 2024 PG&E implemented a significant rate increase for all customers, including customers of Ava Community Energy. We assembled this information to help you understand the impacts of the rate increases on your energy bill.

It’s important to note that these increased costs are mainly for PG&E transmission and delivery service, not for Ava’s portion of your electricity bill (generation of energy). Customers of Ava Community Energy are still customers of PG&E for energy delivery, and most of this rate increase is on the energy delivery portion of the bill.

Ava’s generation rates were increased slightly, in alignment with PG&E’s increased generation rates, on January 1, but we still maintain rates for our Bright Choice service at a 5% discount to PG&E rates.

On July 1, 2024, PG&E temporarily decreased their rates across generation and transmission and delivery by 9.3%. In response, Ava decreased our rates by an average of 12%.

Why is PG&E raising rates?

According to the California Public Utilities Commission, the top drivers of PG&E’s proposed increases are inflation and significant investments in undergrounding electric lines to decrease wildfire risk. Read more about how PG&E sets rates.

Why do PG&E rate increases impact my bill when I am on Ava service?

Electricity service has two components: generation (power plants) and delivery (poles and wires). Ava provides only the generation portion of your electricity service. PG&E continues to deliver the electricity, maintain the lines and wires that distribute electricity to your home or business, and send your bill. Rate increases on PG&E delivery services impact Ava customers and non-Ava customers equally.

In the graph below you can see Ava’s generation rate increase (~13%) and PG&E’s delivery and transmission rate increase (~35%) for a customer on an E-TOU-C rate schedule and Bright Choice generation service from Ava. Ava’s rate increase amounts to almost 2.5 cents. PG&E’s rate increase amounts to over 7 cents.

January 2024 Rate Increases Chart

It’s important to note that Ava’s generation rates increases and decreases at the same percentage as PG&E’s generation rates, so you’re still saving 5% on Bright Choice service.

How much is my bill changing?

According to PG&E, the change is an increase of approximately 12.8% in 2024, with the typical bill increasing by about $32.50 per month. This is on top of other significant PG&E rate increases in recent years. Below is a table provided by PG&E that shows example bill impacts based on various amounts of monthly energy usage.

To understand what the rate increase means for you and your household, use the chart below.

Overall UsageElectric UsageElectric Price IncreaseGas UsageGas Price Increase
Low250 kWh+ $1333 therms+ $3
Medium500 kWh+ $3250 therms+ $6
High750 kWh+ $5170 therms+ $9
*Shows change compared to previous rates as of October 2023 for electric and December 2023 for gas. Actual impact will vary depending on your usage and any programs you may be enrolled in. Includes the California Climate Credit.

The July 2024 rate decreases can be seen in the following chart for the most common rate schedules in Ava service territory.

Average Monthly Bill Changes 2024 Chart

When will rates increase?

The rate increase went into effect on January 1, 2024, so you might not notice the impact on your bill until you receive bills for energy you consumed this calendar year (i.e. your January bill will likely contain some December electricity usage billed at the older rates).

What is Ava Community Energy doing to help reduce customer bills?

As a not-for-profit agency, Ava is committed to returning excess revenue to the communities we serve. That is why, for the second consecutive year, Ava recently issued millions of dollars worth of bill credits to customers. This round of credits totaled over $16 million:

  • Beginning in late November 2023 every household on an income-qualifying rate under the California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE) or Family Electric Rate Assistance (FERA) programs automatically received a one-time $50 bill credit. With about 115,000 qualifying accounts, Ava put approximately $6 million back in customers’ wallets.
  • Starting in November 2023 and continuing on a rolling basis, all Ava residential customers (including those on CARE or FERA) received a $7.74 bill credit, and all Ava commercial customers received volumetric savings on their bills based on their electricity usage. These two tranches total $10.5 million across residential and commercial bills.

These bill credits are in addition to the ongoing 5% savings that Ava’s Bright Choice service provides. In fact, our Bright Choice service has saved our customers over $70 million since we launched our agency in 2018.

What can I do to help lower my bill?

  • Use electricity when it is cheapest. When possible, don’t use major appliances between the hours of 4:00 PM and 9:00 PM – that is when electricity is most expensive.
  • If you have an electric vehicle (EV), make sure you’re on a rate schedule specifically designed for EVs. Learn more about driving electric (it’s still cheaper to charge your EV than to pay for gas!).
  • Check if you qualify for CARE or FERA rates
  • Choose Ava’s Bright Choice service and save 5% compared to what you would have paid PG&E
  • Turn off lights and unplug appliances when they’re not in use