SAN DIEGO — Editor’s Note: At publication, this story noted that electricity rates for SDG&E customers are the most expensive in the country. We have since updated this story to explain that San Diego Community Power (CCA), the local government entity, along with San Diego Clean Power, the County’s CCA, purchases the electrical commodity for the majority of San Diegans across the city and county, respectively. Those two local CCA’s provide about 80% of the commodity directly to customers, and that will increase to 90% of the region in 2024. CCAs are responsible for setting rates for electricity supply. Breaking down your bill, the commodity portion is about 35%, taxes, fees and public purpose account for about 15%, and the electrical delivery, provided by SDG&E, accounts for the remaining 50% of your bill. SDG&E is responsible for proposing rates for consideration by the California Public Utilities Commission for energy delivery.
San Diego residents are facing the highest air conditioning bills in the country, according to a new study based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
The study, conducted by Casinos.win, shows San Diegans would have to pay over $1,111.50 if they were to have their central AC unit running for 24 hours over 30 days. That is 279.41% of the US average. Last year June, the price would have been $957.06 for the same amount of hours.
“It shouldn’t be that way, but if we’re not taking care of our systems, they can not cool our houses efficiently," said Steve Willmore, General Manager and lead technician at Progressive Heating & Air.
The group used the data on price per kilowatt from last month and multiplied it by 24 hours to find the AC running costs.
Hawaii came second, followed by San Francisco, Boston then Riverside.
Willmore said it’s all about how people manage their units.
“Many people try to save money by not running their system. They let their system get to 85. They get home and say, ‘Oh my god, it's hot,’ so they set it down to 70, thinking, 'We’re going to cool the house.' So, many times, I feel like it's user error, living in San Diego, and not taking care of our systems," he said.
Willmore said maintaining a consistent temperature is key.
"You don’t have to set it very low to get cool. It will do the same supply temp, which is the cooling temperature of your home, if you put it at 50 or 75. You want to keep your house at a comfortable rate," he said.
San Diego residents should seal all gaps where air can come in and also keep their windows closed or covered to not let too much heat into the home.
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