State regulatory agency denies SDG&E request to eliminate high usage charge

SAN DIEGO – Tens of thousands of San Diego Gas & Electric customers may continue to see a high usage charge on their bills after the California Public Utilities Commission denied SDG&E’s request to have the state-mandated charge eliminated or suspended. Last summer, more than 120,000 customers were impacted by the high use charge.

The high use charge was incorporated into SDG&E’s billing structure in late 2017 per state requirements to encourage energy conservation. Customers incur the charge after using high amounts of electricity – more than 400 percent of their baseline allowance – to power...