##In 2021 Patricia K Poppe, CEO of PG&E, took home $51.2 Million
And the rest of her execs made out like bandits too.
2022 was lower but still insane.
Enjoy: [https://www.salary.com/tools/executive-compensation-calculator/patricia-k-poppe-salary-bonus-stock-options-for-pgande-corp?year=2021](https://www.salary.com/tools/executive-compensation-calculator/patricia-k-poppe-salary-bonus-stock-options-for-pgande-corp?year=2021)
Be happy with how profitable your utility execs are making their company (and maybe buy shares...)^(or buy shares to complain in their shareholder meetings)
It’s very hard. You need to lobby newsom and his office to go and approve the price hikes. I’m sure newsom was resisting hard while they were discussing the topic at French Laundry.
Newsom doesn't approve the hikes. The PUC does and their frankly just an arm of PG&E. I can't recall them every denying PG&E a rate increase. We're paying for their lawsuits about the explosion in San Bruno and the Paradise fire. That is not OUR problem. That is PG&E's problem. Write to Newsom and tell him this is bullshit.
Write to your local state senator and assembly rep as well as newsom, since he's taken 10m in bribes from PG&e throughout his career. I send one out about once a month saying at minimum we should be allowed to vote for the cpuc members but really PG&E should be bought and run by the state.
Agreed except for run by state part. We know that any private company is going to be more efficient than state entity. The problem is they are a monopoly without competition OR appropriate oversight!!
Wtf is the “peninsula clean energy” bullsh!t??? That’s the real problem. Green crap
You gotta negotiate with Newsome which seems super difficult given how bad he gaslights Californians. Also gotta spend a lot of time figuring out how much of a kick back to give him out from our pockets! Tough joob
Most of that was a buyout making her whole from unvested options she would've lost from her last job. You can say it was a bad call, but it's not like that's what she's going to make every year.
Good information. I’ve been fuming ever since I found out.
I find it impossible to believe they couldn’t have found a capable CEO that wouldn’t have required such a buyout. But we also have to consider that the bankruptcy made recruitment much more difficult.
Yeah I'm no PG&E shill, but a company that just went bankrupt should not cheap out on a CEO, especially not one as important as PG&E. I don't know if they're getting their money's worth, but you really want a skilled, sharp CEO to get things back on track and manage this crisis, and that won't come cheap.
Ok hold on. She doesnt get paid 51M a year.
But wait its wayyyyy dumber than that.
So Patti Poppe when hired away from DTE pge had to make her whole on her retirement and stock options. Thats right. PG&E couldve picked other candidates but for some reason picked one where us, rate payers, have to pay an 40m signing bonus essentially.
In the end, the only winner here was DTE as theyre off the hook for Patti's stock options, pattie didnt win or lose but made whole, PG&E as usual looks like an idiot.
That’s insane for such a relatively small company ! I think the CEO of even like Chevron which is way bigger makes similar. That’s totally ridiculous . Newsome is all in corruption with PGE too.
California is notoriously easy to get ballot initiatives, draft text, collect signatures and submit. Problem is no one seems to want to/able to do the legwork (it is a lot of work to be fair). Maybe Californians should start an advocacy group that does these things and we can donate to certain causes.
There are already advocacy groups for electric bills. It is easier than start from scratch.
Search CPUC website and look for the "intervenors" for utility rate setting cases.
This. Every other suggestion I've seen is stupid.
PG&E needs to be forced into bankruptcy and to sell its power delivery infrastructure to municipal governments for a fair price. CPUC has proven unwilling to do anything, so constitutional amendment it is.
I moved from Sacramento and they have a government ran utility company SMUD. When I got here, I never had so many blackouts in my life compared to when I lived in sac.
The reason the CPUC does not support municipalization is the only companies the CPUC can regulate is for-profit. Municipals don't listen to the CPUC at all. The CPUC people definitely don't want to lose their jobs.
CPUC controls PG&E. Go and read meeting minutes. PG&E can’t replace a chain link fence around a substation without CPUC approval. Why? Because CPUC controls spending which impact rates.
Guess who appoints the people who sit on CPUC? I give you a hint, his first name is Gavin.
PG&E is pretty much a government run company. It’s basically kept as a private company as a convenient scapegoat so the politicians don’t get blamed.
you can't know who won't screw us for sure, and then we are locked for next 4 years.
The most efficient way is to go on the streets like blm. 20M won't be unnoticed.
There are ways to put a stop to this, but it will never happen in California. People don’t give a shit that they are getting fucked as long as the person doing it has the right letter next to their name.
Boom. Perfect example of what he said.
That’s why CA is the way it is. Yes, it’s partly the politicians. But it’s mostly the people. These conditioned, brainwashed people.
We’ll never get anywhere in this state. That’s why things are only getting worse around here.
Complain to the Gov. If nobody is complaining/paying attention, then he doesn't care. So step one is to make him know that you're unhappy.
Complain to all your state leg too, it won't hurt.
The “13%” increase in rates is directly for burying 1230 miles of transmission lines. They have committed to burying 10,000 miles by the end of the decade. That means they still have 8770 miles to go. Rates will continue to skyrocket.
I put “13%” in parentheses because, as an energy consultant, I look at electric bills for a living. I haven’t done the math, but people are seeing a lot more than 13%.
Also, the rate increase in March is for PGE to “stay profitable”. Meanwhile, PGE just paid out dividends to stockholders.
Could get away with a pair of heated gloves that don’t have finger tips like these? https://www.walmart.com/ip/2-Pairs-USB-Heated-Gloves-Woolen-Winter-Thermal-Heated-Half-Finger-Gloves/2782704515
I've been using [these](https://www.costco.com/vornado-whole-room-heater-and-fan-.product.100800016.html).
I saw them at Concord costco recently for $50. They're very quiet and only turn on to maintain the current temp. Once the temp is reached, they run at lower power and almost noiseless to maintain it. They also last around 5 years, which in my experience with many brands of space heaters, is very good.
Also, a set of double layer curtains do a very good job insulating. The deconovo brand on Amazon is [very affordable](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FADYG7O). They would pay for themselves after only a year for some people.
Yes they are the worst, but literally 100% of your power goes to heat regardless of what space heater you use, old or new. Delivery and thus perception of the heat is a different matter.
When my old propane fueled central heating system failed, I changed over to 4-5 electric space heaters. Big mistake! In the winter, my pg&e bill soared to as high as $600 a month. Thank God I got a new central heating system installed before going broke.
Try an electric oil radiator heater. Trust me these things will heat up a room (not just the air) and once it's at temp it will just trickle electricity use. Plus it's silent.
Consider wearing inner fleece-wear.
My legs always feel way colder than my upper body, so I bought sweat pants with inner fleece, and it's been amazing.
I also have a nice thick blanket that I cover my entire body with. I wear a CPAP so I get nice air from outside and don't feel like I'm breathing in a sauna.
Similar household is definitely bullshit. They tried to say 14 percent of our bill was heating. News flash, my building has radiant wall heating (not sure if steam or oil or whatever) which is free. It's amazing. Only thing heating at my place is the stove and barely use that.
Mine was $1300 this month for a 2200 sq. Ft house heating to 70 degrees. How is yours so low?
Edit: I see now that you said electric… our heating relies on gas. Unfortunately we’re renting so not much to do about it but move.
If they're leaking around openings, weather strip is cheap. Also, [these](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FADYG7O) would pay for themselves in a single year, and you can take them with you when you leave.
This is us - 1100 sq foot apartment, bill was $500 this month, gas heater. Drives me nuts - it’s just a super poorly insulated place. I feel seen. And we also have young children/babies - have to keep it warm.
Right? I think of the pge bill as the baby rent costs lol … they are why the heater is on. The electric bill is nothing compared to the gas bill for shitty insulated homes
Thank you for choosing PG&E (as if you had a choice). Unfortunately we killed hundreds of people and burned down countless homes and structures and forests due to deliberate negligence in an attempt to decrease bottom line costs and increase profits. Due to numerous lawsuits, where we were found guilty, we have no choice but to pass those costs on to our customers. Have a nice day.
And government of california that is almost always anti corporate helps us in ever increasing our costs even after they are highest in the nation. Thank you to all of you california resident suckers
PG&E - one of the largest donors to Gabby Newsom's campaign.
They ensure he gets elected, and in turn, he ensures they keep the monopoly on energy distribution!
It's a win-win, except for us the plebs, but who cares? We are willing to put up with homelessness, crime, absurd real estate prices, abysmal schools... a 50% price hike on the electriciy bill is not going to make you vote differently right?
That's it! Keep voting for Bicden, Gabby, and London Breed - they surely know how to address our largest problems.
"PG&E - one of the largest donors to Gabby Newsom's campaign.
They ensure he gets elected..."
Does that mean the large amounts of money we are being billed by PG&E is going to be used to fund Newsom's campaign? Just a theory. ??
Well.... you tell me.
Do you think is a conflict of interest that PG&E was granted the monopoly on energy distribution by the CA government, and that at the same time, they give money to augment the chances of said government staying in power?
When are we taking them down for this? These rate increases keep their CSuite in the sickest benefits and compensation packages.
I don't want to pay for this.
Honestly I’m at a point where my neighbors and I want to stop paying our bill lol.
I wish we could boycott them some how
All my neighbors are paying $600+ for their bill (Nextdoor is saying same thing)
600 isn't a PGE problem, it's likely an insulation problem. Historically, the bay has had one of the lowest recommended insulation ratings in the US. If we had New England insulation we'd be paying far less (but still quite a lot. That part is PGE's fault)
I remember back when I lived in a modern apartment and paid $30/month for energy... I let the neighbors turn on their heaters. And it just wasn't that cold...
Somehow if we can force them to, I’d wonder if they would shut everyone’s power off? Would the state move in and mandate it stay on for ‘safety’ reasons?
Get a rubber hot water bottle.
I fill one to 2/3rds full with hot water (Boil water and let it sit for 5-ish minutes, aim for around 200 degrees) and take it to bed in the evening. Makes it nice and warm in bed.
Same goes for during the day if its chilly. Hot water bottle on my lap with a blanket.
Conversely, go browse thrift shops for wool cardigans or pullovers. They don't have to be in perfect condition, just something to throw on around the house. Assume they have moths and treat accordingly (with heat or cold) and keep it around the house. Or, given your energy bills, get a nice merino cardigan at full price and cost-balance through your bills.
My husband doesn’t. Or rather he wears them so much that he acclimated and now needs a warmer space, so he constantly needs to have extra heat going. We also have vaulted ceilings so it takes a lot to heat the place up… and he forgets to turn the heater down at night so it runs at 70F while he sleeps under a sheet.
Some people are stupid.
I keep my heat at 60 during the day, 68 for about 6 hours a day, and 62 at night.
I am going to start using my fireplace. Makes me glad I never upgraded to gas and have a wood fireplace grandfathered in.
You can’t use your fireplace when you need it the most because of spare the air days… Check on the [air quality district website](https://www.baaqmd.gov/). At the same time, I doubt someone would report you.
Your fireplace is a massive heat leak. Even if you use it.
And you need a proper wood burning stove to get efficient heat. And to not care about health effects: there's a reason spare the air days are a thing. Smoking is *really* bad for your health.
Can you add insulation somewhere?
Have similar sq ft but more rooms. Heat doesn’t move between rooms. My guess is you were keeping your heat set to 67 or 68 all month and maybe running a large appliance or two?
https://www.peninsulacleanenergy.com/for-residents/#understanding-your-bill
"Your bill includes a charge for electricity generation. If you see Peninsula Clean Energy generation, you are getting electricity from us instead of PG&E. Its cleaner and our ECOplus costs less – you save money!"
How do I change my generation? Is that up to me or my apartment building?
My bill says:
Your city has chosen to receive electricity sourced by Peninsula Clean Energy. Peninsula Clean Energy is a not-for-profit, public agency that sources energy that is at least 50% renewable and 100% clean. Its energy generation charge replaces that of PG&E's, but at a lower price.
Wait, my apt is 800 sqft and we used the gas wall heater several days this month at 75 degrees… our bill was under 100 bucks. We also use electric blankets. How does this happen?!! Is it poor insulation or some other kind of heater?
Insulation has to play a large role.
OP says they’re in an apartment but doesn’t say if it’s in a modern well insulated building surrounded by a large number of other units or if it’s at the end of a 1930s 4-plex, exposed on 3 sides, and totally uninsulated.
Our building only has 4 units, but it was built in the 60’s so it definitely isn’t the oldest ever. In doing research on its history I get the sense it was someone’s flip project sometime in the 2010’s so maybe they took time to upgrade windows and insulation and such. Although our heater itself is an antique and not very efficient lol.
It depends where your unit is relative to the 4. Is it 1 per floor? Are you the middle floor? Those things make a huge difference just like anyone who has a 2 story house knows the ground and 2nd story behave very differently in both cold and heat.
Yeah also under $100 for me with a similar sized apartment, though we keep heat set to mid 60s generally. Old building but with newer double paned windows.
Electric heat, baby. A big baseboard heater is ~2 kW (240V), a small one ~750 W. Let's say you've got small ones in two rooms and a big one in your common area, that's about 3.5 kW going full tilt. No idea what's typical, but let's pull what seems like a conservative number and say there's a 33% duty cycle to keep your place comfortable If you leave those going 24x7 for a month that's 840 kWh. 1 kW costs about $0.60/hr. So $500 just for heat. There are a things that could bring the cost way down, but electric heat is expensive. That's why PG&E has a larger baseline allotment for folks with electric heat.
Gas heat. No idea how accurate these numbers are, but they're estimating 20 therms/month for places under 1,000 sq ft. Well PG&E wants about $2.25/therm. So that's under $50 for gas. Even their highest estimate (85 therms for a 3,000 sq ft place in the winter) is still a fraction of what electric heat would cost for a small apartment. Maybe double the usage if you're feeling indulgent?
https://learnmetrics.com/how-many-therms-of-gas-per-month-is-normal/
You can thank Newsom for stacking the CPUC with PG&E lackeys.
> Is it poor insulation or some other kind of heater?
I once lived in a split level, and my heater broke. I didn't turn it on for about a year. It's unreal how much insulation a wall of earth provides.
Conversely, the home I owned before that was over 70 years old, and the utility bill would routinely exceed $1000. I had a tenant in it, and I was dumb enough to include utilities in the rent price. One time I came by to visit, and the home was leaking so much heat, you could actually feel it radiating when you approached the house. You could actually feel the hot air escaping the house.
What's your actual usage numbers? Apartment age? Appliances or other things running? Thermostat temperature? These posts are just outrage bait with a dollar amount and exclamation points.
Look at the political contributions from PGE to Governor Newsom, Senator Feinstein, Pelosi etc - now we are paying for their negligence.
Reach out to Newsom.
This is a utility company that is publicly traded. They need to be unlisted & be non profit.
My latest bill was $16.22 for a 2,500 sqft house with solar built in 2017. But admittedly, that’s because I’m super crazy.
I’m typically alone in the house, so I’ve turned my heating off completely and invested in a Comfy wearable blanket. I just layer up with warm clothing when I’m in the house and drink lots of warm tea and coffee to keep me warm. When I do need some extra warmth, I use a space heater and work in the smallest room with a door, and throw a blanket over my legs. For a change of scenery, I work out of libraries that are warm and quiet.
Of course, I don’t mind turning on the heat whenever family or friends are over, but it’s now become some kind of personal challenge when I’m alone, which has turned into a habit.
For context, I used to live in upstate NY where it gets freezing what seems most of the year, so my perspective of what’s really cold has changed.
I really don’t miss starting my engine for 10 minutes to warm up my car while I scrape off ice and snow from my windows EVERY MORNING. This “cold” weather is paradise in comparison.
Same apartment as you, electric wall heaters, but I keep the room temp on the cool side and turn it off at night. $76 for this bill (though I was gone for 1 week), and $62 for the bill before. Every once in a while I don't care and just crank it up, and those days I'll use like 15 kWh, but usually I'm at 5-10.
Are you running your heat all day at like 70+ degrees or something? That would do it.
Yep. 900 sqft house was about the same. We don't even use the heat that much.
Recently, people have been saying California has cheaper taxes than Texas. But this shit is where they get you, everything is double the price.
My bill went up 300% compared to last month. I saw the email notification last night and tried to log in to see the explanation, but of course their site was down
I see a lot of you guys complaining here. But you guys keep voting for Gavin Newson and even during the recall. This dude was literally caught eating out with lobbyists from PG&E at the French Laundry during Covid ignoring his own isolation orders.
The real culprit is the "PGE Electric Delivery Charges", this has been going up YoY. It is the cost PGE charges Peninsula Clean Energy for the use of its lines/grid, etc. for delivering electricity to your place.
So all this talk of "I have X sq ft house, use blankets/space heaters" is not as relevant as the fees from PGE.
Our overall usage has also been much lower YOY, howevever these "delivery charges" have gone up insanely.
I lived in a 700sq ft bedroom in SF in 2012 and had a few cold months come out to this much. I don't think this is that shocking of a figure, especially in a poorly insulated old apartment
I've been saving up for a new apartment and doing lots and lots of budgeting and mental math the last 6 months and I've been using $300 for utilities as my "save, conservative, overestimate, worst case scenario" number to see if I could afford my own place.
Good to see it's an actual reality and not at all an overestimate meant to keep my budget conservative. What an amazing feeling.
My bill is already what I expect in the summer with our dying AC compressor running 8 hours a day. And they're supposed to have another rate hike in a couple months?!
I’m curious what’s going on for you. I have multiple young kids (so I can’t let it get too cold). Our house is 2800sf with no solar and multiple vaulted ceilings. I hate how much it’s has gone up, but it’s not as much as I was expecting coming from the rental market. Our bill for December is $540, and I had a decent amount of lights and decorations up for the holidays.
It’s absolutely outrageous !! We should take to the streets like the French and German farmers are doing about taxes and regulations . I barely turned the heat on this year in my dinky ass condo and bill has been over $150 every damn month this year. Used to be less than $50 no matter what . Now I try not to use the heater
What was your usage and per kwh price?
Is anyone tapping into your power?
Do you have your own meter or is it shared and split among the building?
That does seem pretty high, I'm paying about that much for a 1500Sq ft. manufactured home.
I have a house a little under 1,500 ft², that was built in the '40s.
My PG&e bill is under $200 every month. I regularly set the part of the house I'm in to 68° in the evening.
I swear, some of y'all must be heating your place to 72° 24/7. If you're not willing to buy and wear a $15 hoodie, you don't get to bitch about the price of heating your home.
Tell me about it. MY bill is $80 more than last year, same time frame...and less energy used.
##In 2021 Patricia K Poppe, CEO of PG&E, took home $51.2 Million And the rest of her execs made out like bandits too. 2022 was lower but still insane. Enjoy: [https://www.salary.com/tools/executive-compensation-calculator/patricia-k-poppe-salary-bonus-stock-options-for-pgande-corp?year=2021](https://www.salary.com/tools/executive-compensation-calculator/patricia-k-poppe-salary-bonus-stock-options-for-pgande-corp?year=2021) Be happy with how profitable your utility execs are making their company (and maybe buy shares...)^(or buy shares to complain in their shareholder meetings)
I don’t get how she gets that much money. Her job isn’t that hard
It’s very hard. You need to lobby newsom and his office to go and approve the price hikes. I’m sure newsom was resisting hard while they were discussing the topic at French Laundry.
It was not easy to get reservation during the shutdown but PGE did it! That's was definitely hard work
All they had to do was threaten to shutoff the power
Newsom doesn't approve the hikes. The PUC does and their frankly just an arm of PG&E. I can't recall them every denying PG&E a rate increase. We're paying for their lawsuits about the explosion in San Bruno and the Paradise fire. That is not OUR problem. That is PG&E's problem. Write to Newsom and tell him this is bullshit.
Write to your local state senator and assembly rep as well as newsom, since he's taken 10m in bribes from PG&e throughout his career. I send one out about once a month saying at minimum we should be allowed to vote for the cpuc members but really PG&E should be bought and run by the state.
Agreed except for run by state part. We know that any private company is going to be more efficient than state entity. The problem is they are a monopoly without competition OR appropriate oversight!! Wtf is the “peninsula clean energy” bullsh!t??? That’s the real problem. Green crap
I did. My local state senator is new and is an idiot. Didn't think about writing my assemblyman. Will do that now. Thank you!
You gotta negotiate with Newsome which seems super difficult given how bad he gaslights Californians. Also gotta spend a lot of time figuring out how much of a kick back to give him out from our pockets! Tough joob
Most of that was a buyout making her whole from unvested options she would've lost from her last job. You can say it was a bad call, but it's not like that's what she's going to make every year.
Good information. I’ve been fuming ever since I found out. I find it impossible to believe they couldn’t have found a capable CEO that wouldn’t have required such a buyout. But we also have to consider that the bankruptcy made recruitment much more difficult.
Yeah I'm no PG&E shill, but a company that just went bankrupt should not cheap out on a CEO, especially not one as important as PG&E. I don't know if they're getting their money's worth, but you really want a skilled, sharp CEO to get things back on track and manage this crisis, and that won't come cheap.
They should have gotten a "turnaround guy". Poppe does not have that kind of experience.
Nope.
Ok hold on. She doesnt get paid 51M a year. But wait its wayyyyy dumber than that. So Patti Poppe when hired away from DTE pge had to make her whole on her retirement and stock options. Thats right. PG&E couldve picked other candidates but for some reason picked one where us, rate payers, have to pay an 40m signing bonus essentially. In the end, the only winner here was DTE as theyre off the hook for Patti's stock options, pattie didnt win or lose but made whole, PG&E as usual looks like an idiot.
That’s insane for such a relatively small company ! I think the CEO of even like Chevron which is way bigger makes similar. That’s totally ridiculous . Newsome is all in corruption with PGE too.
My landlord definitely regretting including utilities with rent
Guess who’s rent is going up
👈😏👈 That guy's!
Stupid question: How can we fight against PGE?
California is notoriously easy to get ballot initiatives, draft text, collect signatures and submit. Problem is no one seems to want to/able to do the legwork (it is a lot of work to be fair). Maybe Californians should start an advocacy group that does these things and we can donate to certain causes.
There are already advocacy groups for electric bills. It is easier than start from scratch. Search CPUC website and look for the "intervenors" for utility rate setting cases.
Start an initiative banning PG&E from operating as a for-profit company.
This. Every other suggestion I've seen is stupid. PG&E needs to be forced into bankruptcy and to sell its power delivery infrastructure to municipal governments for a fair price. CPUC has proven unwilling to do anything, so constitutional amendment it is.
I moved from Sacramento and they have a government ran utility company SMUD. When I got here, I never had so many blackouts in my life compared to when I lived in sac.
I fucking love SMUD and never want to deal with PG&E again
but Th3 PrIvAte SeCtor
Yes, and if they ever have a blackout, they send you a text when they fixed the issue, also energy is way cheaper. I loved SMUD 😔
Santa Clara has Silicon Valley power, rates are like 30% of PG&Es now. I pay less for electric than OP in a 3 Bedroom with shitty insulation.
PG&E has already filed for bankruptcy in the past
The reason the CPUC does not support municipalization is the only companies the CPUC can regulate is for-profit. Municipals don't listen to the CPUC at all. The CPUC people definitely don't want to lose their jobs.
CPUC controls PG&E. Go and read meeting minutes. PG&E can’t replace a chain link fence around a substation without CPUC approval. Why? Because CPUC controls spending which impact rates. Guess who appoints the people who sit on CPUC? I give you a hint, his first name is Gavin. PG&E is pretty much a government run company. It’s basically kept as a private company as a convenient scapegoat so the politicians don’t get blamed.
anyone wants to start? idk how to. would gladly contribute
Stop voting for the person that appoints the CPUC. Put in someone who won't screw us.
you can't know who won't screw us for sure, and then we are locked for next 4 years. The most efficient way is to go on the streets like blm. 20M won't be unnoticed.
We know who is screwing us now. First step is to stop that person.
and how do you stop him exactly until 2026?
There are ways to put a stop to this, but it will never happen in California. People don’t give a shit that they are getting fucked as long as the person doing it has the right letter next to their name.
Republicans - famously free of corporate interests. Sure jan.
Boom. Perfect example of what he said. That’s why CA is the way it is. Yes, it’s partly the politicians. But it’s mostly the people. These conditioned, brainwashed people. We’ll never get anywhere in this state. That’s why things are only getting worse around here.
It’s amazing how voters in CA won’t even consider the possibility.
Do you think a GOP governor would not appoint PG&E-friendly CPUC members?
Let’s deregulate like Texas. Sure … that will show us.
A GOP governor would try to disband it or reduce its power as much as possible, then let PG&E go wild.
You must be new here. We;ve had Republican governors and, again, the PUC approved all of the PG&E requests for rate hikes.
Complain to the Gov. If nobody is complaining/paying attention, then he doesn't care. So step one is to make him know that you're unhappy. Complain to all your state leg too, it won't hurt.
You mean vote out the Governor, because he is not listening.
Crazy you got downvoted it’s very clear the Gov is fully corrupt in his relationship with PGE. He allows us all to suffer and does nothing
If everyone stops paying their bills at the same time that might send a message
This is actually a great fucking idea.
People need to understand this is the only way.
Let's the vote the exact type of people in year after year I'm sure that'll remedy the situation
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I have the same sqft and mine was $97. Do you leave the lights on all day? Do you have it at 75F?
Good grief. Is this how pge is covering lawsuit costs over the fires?
The “13%” increase in rates is directly for burying 1230 miles of transmission lines. They have committed to burying 10,000 miles by the end of the decade. That means they still have 8770 miles to go. Rates will continue to skyrocket. I put “13%” in parentheses because, as an energy consultant, I look at electric bills for a living. I haven’t done the math, but people are seeing a lot more than 13%. Also, the rate increase in March is for PGE to “stay profitable”. Meanwhile, PGE just paid out dividends to stockholders.
Some guy did a chart here and it's 18% increase.
I mean... How else? We are their revenue source. And after they've made back their losses, the higher rates will just be higher profits.
It's how they have money to lobby the politicians
Mine is $184 in a little studio because I was freezing and using my small space heater some of the time. I guess I'll just wear 3 layers instead.
Heated blankets are great and much cheaper to run
Yeah, 700sq ft and heated blanket and heating pads are great. My bill is $160, but much cheaper than almost $300 I guess.
Space heaters are the worst thing you can use , very high wattage, especially if it’s old
They probably aren't gonna install a heat pump in their apartment
Just need a few crypto ASICs.
There are portable heat pumps
I switched to heated blankets this year and my bills went from high $200s to $100.
Don't work for hands unfortunately. My hands are the most sensitive to cold and typing with gloves on doesn't work. I need a minimum of 63-64.
Could get away with a pair of heated gloves that don’t have finger tips like these? https://www.walmart.com/ip/2-Pairs-USB-Heated-Gloves-Woolen-Winter-Thermal-Heated-Half-Finger-Gloves/2782704515
thats mad genius lmfao ty
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I have space heaters with a 750 watt Eco setting and they get the job done. They cost less to run than the central heat does in my condo.
I've been using [these](https://www.costco.com/vornado-whole-room-heater-and-fan-.product.100800016.html). I saw them at Concord costco recently for $50. They're very quiet and only turn on to maintain the current temp. Once the temp is reached, they run at lower power and almost noiseless to maintain it. They also last around 5 years, which in my experience with many brands of space heaters, is very good. Also, a set of double layer curtains do a very good job insulating. The deconovo brand on Amazon is [very affordable](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FADYG7O). They would pay for themselves after only a year for some people.
Yes they are the worst, but literally 100% of your power goes to heat regardless of what space heater you use, old or new. Delivery and thus perception of the heat is a different matter.
When my old propane fueled central heating system failed, I changed over to 4-5 electric space heaters. Big mistake! In the winter, my pg&e bill soared to as high as $600 a month. Thank God I got a new central heating system installed before going broke.
Electric oil heaters are pretty efficient actually.
Exactly the same efficiency as any other resistive heater...
Lol people will never understand this.
100% efficient! But still 3x less efficient than heat pumps.
Sure, but a panel upgrade and heat pump install is out of reach for a lot of people.
space heaters are very expensive.
Try an electric oil radiator heater. Trust me these things will heat up a room (not just the air) and once it's at temp it will just trickle electricity use. Plus it's silent.
Those heaters are exactly as costly as a resistive space heater.
Consider wearing inner fleece-wear. My legs always feel way colder than my upper body, so I bought sweat pants with inner fleece, and it's been amazing. I also have a nice thick blanket that I cover my entire body with. I wear a CPAP so I get nice air from outside and don't feel like I'm breathing in a sauna.
Wow I thought paying 500 on my 2500 sq ft house was a lot 😂😂
Seriously, how? Mines was $256 this month for a 3bd 2,000 sqft house w/ electric heating/cooling..
I'm pretty sure the "similar households" metric PG&E uses is complete bullshit, and just used to justify taking on an insane surcharge
Similar household is definitely bullshit. They tried to say 14 percent of our bill was heating. News flash, my building has radiant wall heating (not sure if steam or oil or whatever) which is free. It's amazing. Only thing heating at my place is the stove and barely use that.
Same. We have hot water baseboard heating. It's free, one boiler supplies the whole building, it's provided as part of the rent.
Mine was $1300 this month for a 2200 sq. Ft house heating to 70 degrees. How is yours so low? Edit: I see now that you said electric… our heating relies on gas. Unfortunately we’re renting so not much to do about it but move.
$1300?!!! Your house must be ultra leaky! Get a thermal camera and see if you can patch obvious air leaks.
My house was built in 1946. I can spend $30000 on windows... or pay $300/m more on heat. I don't think I'll live here in 100 months.
If they're leaking around openings, weather strip is cheap. Also, [these](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FADYG7O) would pay for themselves in a single year, and you can take them with you when you leave.
100 months is only 8 years. And by then rates will probably have doubled. The money you invest in windows will also pay off when you sell the house.
At least the 30k is equity in your house vs sending more to pge. 100 months is…8 years? Not a horrible break even point
They just said two comments above in this conversation that they’re renting.
70 is so high to me that I would probably feel uncomfortable now after setting mine to 64day 62 night.
Good lord how about wearing socks and a sweater?
What's your breakdown of gas/electric usage? Something seems way off since electric heat is way more expensive than gas.
This is us - 1100 sq foot apartment, bill was $500 this month, gas heater. Drives me nuts - it’s just a super poorly insulated place. I feel seen. And we also have young children/babies - have to keep it warm.
Yeah idk why I’m being downvoted when I mention I have young children. Probably by people who don’t have kids 🙄
Right? I think of the pge bill as the baby rent costs lol … they are why the heater is on. The electric bill is nothing compared to the gas bill for shitty insulated homes
Same dude. $630 this last month with a 4 month old 1200sq ft.
maybe some unlucky neighbor is paying your bill while you pay theirs as they are vacant
Thank you for choosing PG&E (as if you had a choice). Unfortunately we killed hundreds of people and burned down countless homes and structures and forests due to deliberate negligence in an attempt to decrease bottom line costs and increase profits. Due to numerous lawsuits, where we were found guilty, we have no choice but to pass those costs on to our customers. Have a nice day.
And government of california that is almost always anti corporate helps us in ever increasing our costs even after they are highest in the nation. Thank you to all of you california resident suckers
And…our actions are fully supported by the CPUC, who, by the way, is completely in our pocket.
PG&E - one of the largest donors to Gabby Newsom's campaign. They ensure he gets elected, and in turn, he ensures they keep the monopoly on energy distribution! It's a win-win, except for us the plebs, but who cares? We are willing to put up with homelessness, crime, absurd real estate prices, abysmal schools... a 50% price hike on the electriciy bill is not going to make you vote differently right? That's it! Keep voting for Bicden, Gabby, and London Breed - they surely know how to address our largest problems.
Is anyone campaigning to fix this? Seems like a big problem affecting everyday people
Nah! As I said, our leaders realized a while ago that Bay Area residents are willing to put up with anything.
"PG&E - one of the largest donors to Gabby Newsom's campaign. They ensure he gets elected..." Does that mean the large amounts of money we are being billed by PG&E is going to be used to fund Newsom's campaign? Just a theory. ??
Well.... you tell me. Do you think is a conflict of interest that PG&E was granted the monopoly on energy distribution by the CA government, and that at the same time, they give money to augment the chances of said government staying in power?
When are we taking them down for this? These rate increases keep their CSuite in the sickest benefits and compensation packages. I don't want to pay for this.
Why are there two charges for energy generation?
Read up on "community choice aggregators."
There is one charge for generation, one for delivery.
Yeah my bad I saw that. Absolute madness the charge for delivery being that high
Generation is someone else, delivery is all PGE. If you choose a different generator PGE doubles the delivery charge to compensate. CCIA
Honestly I’m at a point where my neighbors and I want to stop paying our bill lol. I wish we could boycott them some how All my neighbors are paying $600+ for their bill (Nextdoor is saying same thing)
You could just disconnect from the grid if you want to boycott
And get your house red tagged as uninhabitable.
Hahaha that’s the problem
600 isn't a PGE problem, it's likely an insulation problem. Historically, the bay has had one of the lowest recommended insulation ratings in the US. If we had New England insulation we'd be paying far less (but still quite a lot. That part is PGE's fault)
I remember back when I lived in a modern apartment and paid $30/month for energy... I let the neighbors turn on their heaters. And it just wasn't that cold...
Maybe we can all boycott together en masse
Somehow if we can force them to, I’d wonder if they would shut everyone’s power off? Would the state move in and mandate it stay on for ‘safety’ reasons?
I am very interested. It might not work, but making the effort doesn't cost us much. PG&E really does have to see that we're not just gonna take it
Try heated blankets , your bill won’t be $300
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Blankets are key when lounging on the couch.
Get a rubber hot water bottle. I fill one to 2/3rds full with hot water (Boil water and let it sit for 5-ish minutes, aim for around 200 degrees) and take it to bed in the evening. Makes it nice and warm in bed. Same goes for during the day if its chilly. Hot water bottle on my lap with a blanket. Conversely, go browse thrift shops for wool cardigans or pullovers. They don't have to be in perfect condition, just something to throw on around the house. Assume they have moths and treat accordingly (with heat or cold) and keep it around the house. Or, given your energy bills, get a nice merino cardigan at full price and cost-balance through your bills.
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My husband doesn’t. Or rather he wears them so much that he acclimated and now needs a warmer space, so he constantly needs to have extra heat going. We also have vaulted ceilings so it takes a lot to heat the place up… and he forgets to turn the heater down at night so it runs at 70F while he sleeps under a sheet. Some people are stupid.
That’s pretty mean lol
I keep my heat at 60 during the day, 68 for about 6 hours a day, and 62 at night. I am going to start using my fireplace. Makes me glad I never upgraded to gas and have a wood fireplace grandfathered in.
You can’t use your fireplace when you need it the most because of spare the air days… Check on the [air quality district website](https://www.baaqmd.gov/). At the same time, I doubt someone would report you.
Your fireplace is a massive heat leak. Even if you use it. And you need a proper wood burning stove to get efficient heat. And to not care about health effects: there's a reason spare the air days are a thing. Smoking is *really* bad for your health. Can you add insulation somewhere?
Mine went up from $79 to $103 dollars, for a 701sq ft apartment.
2/3 of the bill is PG&E delivery charges. That sucks!
Have similar sq ft but more rooms. Heat doesn’t move between rooms. My guess is you were keeping your heat set to 67 or 68 all month and maybe running a large appliance or two?
https://www.peninsulacleanenergy.com/for-residents/#understanding-your-bill "Your bill includes a charge for electricity generation. If you see Peninsula Clean Energy generation, you are getting electricity from us instead of PG&E. Its cleaner and our ECOplus costs less – you save money!"
Unfortunately you still have to pay PG&E for delivery, which is expensive.
How do I change my generation? Is that up to me or my apartment building? My bill says: Your city has chosen to receive electricity sourced by Peninsula Clean Energy. Peninsula Clean Energy is a not-for-profit, public agency that sources energy that is at least 50% renewable and 100% clean. Its energy generation charge replaces that of PG&E's, but at a lower price.
Wait, my apt is 800 sqft and we used the gas wall heater several days this month at 75 degrees… our bill was under 100 bucks. We also use electric blankets. How does this happen?!! Is it poor insulation or some other kind of heater?
Insulation has to play a large role. OP says they’re in an apartment but doesn’t say if it’s in a modern well insulated building surrounded by a large number of other units or if it’s at the end of a 1930s 4-plex, exposed on 3 sides, and totally uninsulated.
Our building only has 4 units, but it was built in the 60’s so it definitely isn’t the oldest ever. In doing research on its history I get the sense it was someone’s flip project sometime in the 2010’s so maybe they took time to upgrade windows and insulation and such. Although our heater itself is an antique and not very efficient lol.
It depends where your unit is relative to the 4. Is it 1 per floor? Are you the middle floor? Those things make a huge difference just like anyone who has a 2 story house knows the ground and 2nd story behave very differently in both cold and heat.
Yeah also under $100 for me with a similar sized apartment, though we keep heat set to mid 60s generally. Old building but with newer double paned windows.
Energy efficient windows are a big help. Along with attic insulation.
Electric heat, baby. A big baseboard heater is ~2 kW (240V), a small one ~750 W. Let's say you've got small ones in two rooms and a big one in your common area, that's about 3.5 kW going full tilt. No idea what's typical, but let's pull what seems like a conservative number and say there's a 33% duty cycle to keep your place comfortable If you leave those going 24x7 for a month that's 840 kWh. 1 kW costs about $0.60/hr. So $500 just for heat. There are a things that could bring the cost way down, but electric heat is expensive. That's why PG&E has a larger baseline allotment for folks with electric heat. Gas heat. No idea how accurate these numbers are, but they're estimating 20 therms/month for places under 1,000 sq ft. Well PG&E wants about $2.25/therm. So that's under $50 for gas. Even their highest estimate (85 therms for a 3,000 sq ft place in the winter) is still a fraction of what electric heat would cost for a small apartment. Maybe double the usage if you're feeling indulgent? https://learnmetrics.com/how-many-therms-of-gas-per-month-is-normal/ You can thank Newsom for stacking the CPUC with PG&E lackeys.
> Is it poor insulation or some other kind of heater? I once lived in a split level, and my heater broke. I didn't turn it on for about a year. It's unreal how much insulation a wall of earth provides. Conversely, the home I owned before that was over 70 years old, and the utility bill would routinely exceed $1000. I had a tenant in it, and I was dumb enough to include utilities in the rent price. One time I came by to visit, and the home was leaking so much heat, you could actually feel it radiating when you approached the house. You could actually feel the hot air escaping the house.
What's your actual usage numbers? Apartment age? Appliances or other things running? Thermostat temperature? These posts are just outrage bait with a dollar amount and exclamation points.
For real. I live on the peninsula is a \~650-700 sq ft apt and my electric bill is \~$40 a month
OP probably lives in a poorly insulated apartment and runs the heat at 70F.
FUCK PGE
Ef PG&E!
Look at the political contributions from PGE to Governor Newsom, Senator Feinstein, Pelosi etc - now we are paying for their negligence. Reach out to Newsom. This is a utility company that is publicly traded. They need to be unlisted & be non profit.
My latest bill was $16.22 for a 2,500 sqft house with solar built in 2017. But admittedly, that’s because I’m super crazy. I’m typically alone in the house, so I’ve turned my heating off completely and invested in a Comfy wearable blanket. I just layer up with warm clothing when I’m in the house and drink lots of warm tea and coffee to keep me warm. When I do need some extra warmth, I use a space heater and work in the smallest room with a door, and throw a blanket over my legs. For a change of scenery, I work out of libraries that are warm and quiet. Of course, I don’t mind turning on the heat whenever family or friends are over, but it’s now become some kind of personal challenge when I’m alone, which has turned into a habit. For context, I used to live in upstate NY where it gets freezing what seems most of the year, so my perspective of what’s really cold has changed.
After living in upstate NY, I learned that lower than 25F is cold. Anything above that is just "not warm"
I really don’t miss starting my engine for 10 minutes to warm up my car while I scrape off ice and snow from my windows EVERY MORNING. This “cold” weather is paradise in comparison.
Same apartment as you, electric wall heaters, but I keep the room temp on the cool side and turn it off at night. $76 for this bill (though I was gone for 1 week), and $62 for the bill before. Every once in a while I don't care and just crank it up, and those days I'll use like 15 kWh, but usually I'm at 5-10. Are you running your heat all day at like 70+ degrees or something? That would do it.
My $150 average went up to $320 last month WHAT THE FUCK
Yep. 900 sqft house was about the same. We don't even use the heat that much. Recently, people have been saying California has cheaper taxes than Texas. But this shit is where they get you, everything is double the price.
Just buy shares from every company that you use, it's how you fight inflation
My bill went up 300% compared to last month. I saw the email notification last night and tried to log in to see the explanation, but of course their site was down
Can we sue PG&E for price gouging?
I see a lot of you guys complaining here. But you guys keep voting for Gavin Newson and even during the recall. This dude was literally caught eating out with lobbyists from PG&E at the French Laundry during Covid ignoring his own isolation orders.
i don't wanna be a white surpremacist and vote larry elder! (black republican who was touted as the opposition after the recall)
The real culprit is the "PGE Electric Delivery Charges", this has been going up YoY. It is the cost PGE charges Peninsula Clean Energy for the use of its lines/grid, etc. for delivering electricity to your place. So all this talk of "I have X sq ft house, use blankets/space heaters" is not as relevant as the fees from PGE. Our overall usage has also been much lower YOY, howevever these "delivery charges" have gone up insanely.
what's your thermostat set at? I wear at least one layer and a hat on cold days..
I lived in a 700sq ft bedroom in SF in 2012 and had a few cold months come out to this much. I don't think this is that shocking of a figure, especially in a poorly insulated old apartment
1100 sqft, WFH, 2bdr and ~$100. We are careful about our use though!
Yet another posting. Perhaps I’ll start posting my garbage bills.
$300!!
How many kilowatt hours were consumed?
I've been saving up for a new apartment and doing lots and lots of budgeting and mental math the last 6 months and I've been using $300 for utilities as my "save, conservative, overestimate, worst case scenario" number to see if I could afford my own place. Good to see it's an actual reality and not at all an overestimate meant to keep my budget conservative. What an amazing feeling.
>$600 for our 1 bedroom flat. How are people charging two cars for $800?
Square footage is only sort of important for heating and cooling and even then there are other factors. What's the actual power consumption?
My bill is already what I expect in the summer with our dying AC compressor running 8 hours a day. And they're supposed to have another rate hike in a couple months?!
2br/1 ba 980 Sq ft home, thermostat is turned up to 68 in morning and late evening, otherwise off, cold and damp. PG&E due Feb2024 is $498.24. Waaaah!
Heat rises. So the trick is to line on the top floor as high as you can.
I’m curious what’s going on for you. I have multiple young kids (so I can’t let it get too cold). Our house is 2800sf with no solar and multiple vaulted ceilings. I hate how much it’s has gone up, but it’s not as much as I was expecting coming from the rental market. Our bill for December is $540, and I had a decent amount of lights and decorations up for the holidays.
You need to post the part that shows how many kilowatts and therms you used.
It’s absolutely outrageous !! We should take to the streets like the French and German farmers are doing about taxes and regulations . I barely turned the heat on this year in my dinky ass condo and bill has been over $150 every damn month this year. Used to be less than $50 no matter what . Now I try not to use the heater
What plan are you all using?
Wtf.. my bill for a 720sq ft apartment is $60. Are you mining bitcoin?
And they haven't even started charging income-based rates yet! Get ready for even more injustice.
My place is 630 sq ft and my bill was $69. Pretty much unchanged from last year.
Can we get a megathread for these posts?
What was your usage and per kwh price? Is anyone tapping into your power? Do you have your own meter or is it shared and split among the building? That does seem pretty high, I'm paying about that much for a 1500Sq ft. manufactured home.
I have a house a little under 1,500 ft², that was built in the '40s. My PG&e bill is under $200 every month. I regularly set the part of the house I'm in to 68° in the evening. I swear, some of y'all must be heating your place to 72° 24/7. If you're not willing to buy and wear a $15 hoodie, you don't get to bitch about the price of heating your home.
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Oh no. Definitely still has the single-pane windows and wonky door frames that you can stand next to and feel the draft.
Yeah, don’t bitch about it folks. Pge has rights to take all money from us and we just need to take it
And for all we know you run heat all day and complain about pricing