Residential customers could receive more than $100 in bill credit in February and March
SDG&E residential customers who have both gas and electric service will see a total of about $104 in bill credit on their February and March SDG&E statements, earlier than in previous years, following a decision made today by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to move up the timing of two of three scheduled installments of California Climate Credit to provide winter bill relief to residents statewide. California gas consumers have been experiencing record high bills as a result of unprecedented market volatility in natural gas commodity prices in the West.
SDG&E’s residential gas customers will see a $43.40 credit on their February bill. Electric customers will see a $60.70 credit on their March bill and the same amount on a bill in the second half of the year. Customers will see the climate credit reflected on their next bill. Billing cycles vary for customers, so not everyone will see the bill credit at the same time of the month.
This year’s climate credit totals up to $164.80. In the past three years, SDG&E disbursed the climate credit in three installments with the gas credit appearing in the April billing cycle, and the electric credit appearing in the August and September billing cycles.
“Over the past few weeks, SDG&E and CPUC staff met several times to explore the feasibility of moving up the climate credit to provide our customers with bill relief,” said SDG&E Vice President of Customer Services Dana Golan. “In anticipation of today’s vote, our billing group has been working hard to put procedures into place to accelerate the climate credit as quickly as possible.”
The California Climate Credit is a state program that requires power plants, natural gas providers, and other large industries that emit greenhouse gases to buy carbon pollution permits. The credit on customers’ bills represents their share of the payments from the state’s program and provides customers with an increased opportunity to invest in energy-saving products.
There is no action required to receive the credit. All gas and electricity customers, including community choice aggregation customers, will automatically receive the credit in their upcoming billing cycles. SDG&E will also alert customers to the climate credit via email.
Assistance Programs
Customers who are struggling to pay their SDG&E bill are encouraged to visit sdge.com/assistance to explore all of the resources available to them – bill discounts, debt relief payment arrangements and no-cost energy efficiency upgrades that can help lower their bill long-term.
The Neighbor-to-Neighbor program, funded entirely by SDG&E shareholder dollars (not ratepayer dollars), provides eligible customers with up to $300 to offset their outstanding bills. The federally funded Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) offers financial help ranging from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars, depending on household income, size and past due balances. Learn more at sdge.com/assistance.