California regulators are considering a new way for residents to pay for electricity, imposing a charge on the greatest energy users while narrowing price gaps for everyone else.
The California Public Utilities Commission is scheduled to vote on a compromise proposal Friday, marking the first changes in residential rates since energy brownouts roiled the state 15 years ago.
The Legislature in 2001 expanded rate-paying tiers from two to four, and froze the lowest levels to protect households from huge swings in energy costs. The state’s three major investor-owned utilities say the steeply tiered structure means higher-use customers have been unfairly subsidizing low-energy users for years.
