PG&E Rates To Decrease After Years Of Hikes: What To Know

OAKLAND, CA — After an extended string of rate hikes, PG&E customers will get a break this month with an immediate reduction in rates, the utility giant announced Tuesday.

PG&E customers can expect to see a modest decrease in rates after a long period of regular increases. Rates will decrease 2.1 percent effective Sept. 1, which will save the average customer about $5 a month, according to PG&E. The utility also said that gas bills are decreasing 0.4%, saving customers an average of 39 cents per bill. The rate cut comes after more than six approved rate hikes in 2024, followed by widespread public anger after the utility posted record profits of $2.47 billion in 2024.

In addition to September's rate cuts, residential electric customers in October will also receive a $58 California Climate Credit, a biannual credit funded through California’s Cap-and-Trade Program and distributed by utilities.

Despite the rate hikes last year, the company claims that typical residential electric bills are roughly $12 lower today than they were in January 2024, and rates are expected to be even lower in 2026. The utility has also said no further rate increases are forecast through the rest of 2025.

PG&E said rates have decreased because it has completed a number of projects to increase wildfire safety and respond to emergencies, according to the company. The temporary costs were removed from rates, leading to lower bills. While some costs have risen, residential electricity bill surcharges have reportedly dropped three times over the past 15 months, offsetting costs over time.

Various new technologies and protocols like equipment inspection by drones and bundling electric projects have helped the company cut its costs by $2.5 billion, which were taken out of customer bills. In an interview with KTVU, PG&E CEO Patti Poppe likened the temporary costs to educating a child: once they graduate, the costs are no longer there. For that reason, the company said similar temporary costs are set to expire again in 2026.

Still, it’s been an expensive few years.

In 2024, the California Public Utilities Commission approved six rate hike requests from PG&E, including an overall 12.8% increase tied to its General Rate Case. PG&E defended the rate hikes for various projects as necessary for safety and infrastructure, partly in response to the new Senate Bill 410, which required utilities to speed up connections for new customers.

Expenses included 366 miles of system hardening, 108 miles of stronger poles and overhead components, and the addition of 14,000 new customers.

PG&E says it expects prices to continue to stabilize or decrease through the coming years. It proposed an 8% revenue requirement increase from 2027 to 2030, the smallest increase in a decade, but that will be offset by cost savings subtracted from customer bills, according to the company. If approved, this will lead to an average annual increase of 3.4 percent, according to PG&E.

Additionally, the California Energy Commission has forecast that as demand increases, bills may actually decrease because the fixed operating costs will be shared by more customers. A low-rate federal loan guarantee is also lowering PG&E’s borrowing costs by up to $1 billion, which will be passed on to customers.

Still, it’s all relative. PG&E customers pay some of the highest rates in the entire country. According to the Bay Area News Group, the average PG&E customer paid $295 a month in December 2024, which makes a savings of around $7 a mere drop in the bucket. The average U.S. residential electric bill was $139.95 a month in July 2025, according to Electric Choice. Consumer advocates also point out that the company continues to turn record profits as its customers are saddled with sky-high bills.

“If the California Public Utilities Commission doesn’t address the outrageous profits for PG&E coming from outrageously high utility bills, then the state legislature must do it,” said Jamie Court, president of Consumer Action.

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