SAN DIEGO — San Diego Gas and Electric customers are experiencing sticker shock after receiving their most recent monthly bill for the utility company.
“I don’t know what's going on but that seemed like a mistake,” said Luna Blye.
Blye lives in a one-bedroom apartment in Pacific Beach with her son.
She said they're barely home and don't use a lot of energy, which is why she was shocked when her SDG&E bill more than doubled from the month before.
"Last month it was $85. I was blown away to find out a few days ago when I opened up my bill it was $200," said Blye.
Rudy Lopez has a two-bedroom apartment in Otay Mesa.
He's used to paying between $45 and $60 a month. His SDG&E bill has nearly tripled.
"This month I just paid $149," said Lopez.
On social media, people from all over the county have been sharing similar stories.
On Twitter, Justin Leap posted his bill showing it go from $150 to $320.
So, what's going on?
Back in December, SDG&E notified its customers rates would be going up effective Jan. 1.
Officials cited a number of reasons for the hike including wildfire mitigation, growth of public benefit programs that give bill discounts to low-income families, as well as the higher cost of natural gas, which is a worldwide issue, as demand has outpaced supply.
On average, SDG&E customers are paying 7.8% more for electricity and 24.6% more for gas. Add in a cold December, and people's bills went up even more.
Still, some say that doesn't explain just how high their bills are.
While an SDG&E spokesperson declined CBS 8's requests to go on camera, by phone, he did advise customers to check their statements to see if they're on the right plan, and look at new ways to save energy in your home, noting January is typically the highest month for gas and energy usage.
While that may help, the customers CBS8 spoke to aren't convinced, saying they fear these higher bills will become the new norm.
“I definitely had to re-budget things. Took a look at my bills. What do I really need? What can I get rid of," said Blye.
"It will be a concern if this is gonna be month to month double what I had been paying a few months ago," said Lopez.
In a statement, SDG&E said,
"There is no ideal time to increase rates, especially given the inflationary pressures that are raising the costs of other goods and services. At the same time, our customers expect us to deliver clean, safe and reliable energy to them 24/7/365, and to meet that expectation, we must make ongoing safety, reliability and sustainability investments."
The recent rate hike comes just months after the City of San Diego finalized a new franchise agreement with SDG&E good for at least 10 years.
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