RivCo Lawmaker Urges SoCalGas To Protect Consumers Against Price Hikes

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — A Riverside County lawmaker is pressing Southern California Gas Company for answers on how it plans to protect consumers against sudden price hikes after a spike in gas bills this winter jolted Southern California residents.

In a March 10 letter to SoCalGas CEO Scott Drury, Rep. Raul Ruiz (D-Indio) wrote, "This price increase was a painful shock to many SoCalGas customers in my district. While prices have decreased in February and March, I have heard from many of my constituents about how January’s price increase continues to affect them. I am deeply concerned that January’s price increase remains a burden for many, especially those on a fixed income. I understand that many factors that caused the high prices are outside of SoCalGas’s control; however, any price increase must be justified and not the result of unfair business practices."

SoCalGas warned its ratepayers in late December that high prices were coming, and blamed the spike on "historically high natural gas prices in the western United States."

"There’s no easy way to put this: January bills are likely to be shockingly high. An unprecedented cold snap across the nation in part has caused natural gas market prices in the West to more than double between December and January – to the tune of 128% since December," the utility reported at the time. "As a result, our customers can expect to see higher gas bills in the coming weeks. While we don’t set these prices (they’re set by regional and national markets), nor does SoCalGas actually profit from rising prices, we want our customers to know that we understand that this may be a shock and a hardship for some."

The utility did follow up its December announcement with a $1 million contribution to the Gas Assistance Fund, a program that helps income-qualified customers pay their natural gas bills. SoCalGas also said it was delaying collections on overdue accounts until April 1, and would not disconnect overdue residential customers during the first half of the year. Non-residential disconnections were delayed until at least March 1, according to the utility.

Ruiz said he has heard from constituents, and he relayed their messages in a Friday news release:

“My bill has more than doubled twice in the last two months – $293 to $528 – even though I used less gas,” said Benjamin, a constituent from Beaumont. “It is financially breaking to the middle-class family.”

“Just opened our latest SoCalGas bill: 175% MORE than the same period last year. Please consider investigating this as price gouging,” said David, a veteran from San Jacinto. “We're in our late 70s and on a fixed retirement and will find it difficult to make ends meet if this continues.”

Ruiz is not the only one looking for answers. On Feb. 6, Gov. Gavin Newsom called for a federal investigation into high natural gas prices.

In a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Newsom requested that the agency “immediately focus its investigatory resources on assessing whether market manipulation, anticompetitive behavior, or other anomalous activities are driving these ongoing elevated prices in the western gas markets."

Last month, Newsom announced that the California Public Utilities Commission voted to accelerate the California Climate Credit to help California families with their high gas bills. A $90-$120 credit will be applied to residential utility customer bills starting in March for customers of PG&E, Southern California Edison, San Diego Gas & Electric, and Southern California Gas Company. Customers of Bear Valley, Liberty, PacifiCorp, and Southwest Gas will also receive an accelerated credit of varying amounts, according to the governor.

Natural gas prices are now decreasing, but Ruiz is urging SoCalGas "to find solutions that better protect consumers in the future." In his letter to Drury, the congressman laid out a list of questions, and he requested answers by April 10.