Gas and Electric Utilities Seek Rate Hikes

Southern California Edison and Southern California Gas want to raise their rates by about 7 percent, and the California Public Utilities Commission is seeking public comment before considering the requests.

The commission is holding two public meetings in San Clemente on Tuesday—one at 2 p.m. and another at 7 p.m.—to gather input on the rate changes for Southern California Edison.

Southern California Gas spokeswoman Denise King said that additional public meetings for input on gas rates will be in the fall, but they haven't been scheduled yet.

SCE wants an initial increase of 7 percent in 2012, followed by a 1 percent hike in 2013 and 4 percent boost in 2014. Edison spokesman Gil Alexander said that works out to about $5 more per month for the typical single-family home.

The additional revenue is needed to allow the utility to "address infrastructure, security and reliability needs," he said.

The request doesn't directly affect San Clemente residents, who are served by San Diego Gas & Electric, but SDG&E owns 20 percent of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, which is operated by Southern California Edison in the south end of San Clemente.

Southern California Edison services large parts of the rest of Orange County.

Natural Gas Rates

Southern California Gas' 6.2 percent rate hike request would boost average residential bills by about $2.76 a month, according to the company's estimates. The increase would raise $280 million for the utility.

Revenue requirements for both utility companies include costs for maintaining and operating their offices and facilities. The requests do not cover SoCalGas' costs to purchase natural gas for customers, or SCE's cost for fuel to generate electricity or its costs to purchase electricity from other companies, the commission release states.

The reason for the gas rate increase request is to cover the cost of maintaining the safety and reliability of the gas infrastructure, King said.

The Tuesday hearings will be at the San Clemente Community Center at 100 N. Calle Seville.

CORRECTION: Because of incorrect information provided by a source, a subject of the Tuesday hearings was misidentified in a previous version of this article. Also, the figures describing average increases in gas bills and revenues were updated to reflect 2011 estimates.