Dive Brief:

• California regulators have approved an increase of about 6.9% on revenue requirements for Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E).
• The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) authorized a revenue increase of $460 million and attrition increases of 4.57% for 2015 and 5% for 2016. The utility had requested a revenue increase of $1.16 billion, or 17.5%, and attrition increases of 5.9% and 6.1% for those years, respectively.
• The decision is expected to raise rates by 5.8% percent for residential customers, according to PG&E estimates.

Dive Insight:

The increase comes as the utility faces pending fines and an obstruction of justice charge related to the 2010 San Bruno explosion that killed eight people. The CPUC took a cautious tone in a statement announcing approval of the rate increase, stressing that the decision came "after a lengthy and public process."

It is the first rate increase for PG&E since the deadly 2010 San Bruno disaster, and the decision angered ratepayer advocates. "PG&E uses customers’ fears of more San Bruno explosions to justify constantly rising rates, but it is shareholders, not customers, who should pay all costs related to PG&E’s pipeline neglect," The Utility Reform Network said in a statement.

“This was not a ‘business as usual’ rate case. Consistent with our renewed focus on safety, the CPUC approached this rate case very differently from those in the past by integrating a heightened evaluation of safety, risk assessment, and accountability,” CPUC Commissioner Mike Florio said in a statement.

“The amount we authorized is intended to provide the necessary revenue for the maintenance, replacement, and improvement of PG&E’s aging infrastructure, and for the operation of the utility system in a manner that provides safe, affordable, and reliable service to PG&E’s customers," he added.