PG&E: Gas Rates Down, Electric Bills Up

In 2013, gas rates will dip 4 percent but electric rates rise 2 percent for PG&E customers

Keeping the lights on will be about the same, but keeping warm? Much cheaper.

Natural gas rates charged by Pacific Gas & Electric Company will decrease "significantly" on Tuesday, according to the San Jose Mercury News.

Gas rates will dip 6 percent for most customers, the newspaper reported. Electric bills will jump 2 percent.

The utility said that the money gleaned by the rate-jiggling will help them "reduce the frequency of electrical outages" as well as pay for upgrades of the utility's gas and electrical operations.

Wholesale rates are dropping for gas.

The gas-rate decline will be short-lived, however: Due to pipeline safety upgrades demanded by state regulators, PG&E will jump gas prices another 2 percent in February.

The utility has been in trouble with state overseers and the public since 2010, when a gas main in San Bruno exploded, killing people and leveling a neighborhood.

A customer using 550 kilowatt hours of electricity will see his or her bill jump to $91.60, up from $2.29 a year ago. Gas users burning 72 therms of gas will see their bills dip $4.90 to $77.47, the newspaper reported.
 

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