Come Friday, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. customers will receive an unwelcome New Year’s gift — higher prices for electricity and natural gas.
PG&E’s average monthly bill for residential customers in 2016 will jump 7 percent to $147.21, the utility reported Wednesday. That follows a 6 percent rise at the start of 2015 and marks the highest increase since 2006.
And most of it reflects decisions that California utility regulators made more than a year ago.
For electricity, the typical homeowner using 500 kilowatt-hours per month will pay $97.14, up from $89.56 in 2015. The average residential customer will pay $50.07 per month for natural gas, compared with $48.10 this year. (Those monthly figures represent year-round averages, because most PG&E customers use little natural gas in the summer and larger amounts in the winter.)
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