CALIFORNIA — The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) voted 4-0 on September 18 to approve Southern California Edison’s request to raise rates for residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural customers.

Residential power bills will rise about 9.1% starting October 1.

Edison’s General Rate Case — the process where utilities justify costs and regulators decide how much customers will pay — sets rates for 2025 through 2028.

The utility asked to collect $46.17 billion, but regulators cut that by $4.39 billion, approving $41.78 billion instead.

The CPUC said the decision balances affordability with the need to invest in safety and reliability. 

For an average household using 500 kilowatt-hours a month, the increase amounts to about $17 more per month, or roughly $200 a year, according to CPUC estimates.

Rate hikes fund projects

The higher rates will fund wildfire prevention and grid upgrades, including:

• Hardening the electrical grid in areas at high risk of wildfires, including putting wires underground or using covered conductors.
• Improving resilience in vulnerable communities, especially for heat and flooding threats.
• Expanding the vegetation management budget to $553.5 million to reduce the risk that trees or plants near electrical equipment could spark wildfires.
• Upgrades to handle growing demand for electricity and modernizing the electric grid.

The CPUC is requiring Edison to report back on its wildfire safety work and show how much these efforts reduce fire risk.

RELATED: California Extends Climate Program, Putting Money Back in Residents’ Utility Bills