Edison Looking To Raise Rates Next 3 Years

Southern California Edison says it needs more money to take care of its customers.

The utility is proposing a 7.2 percent rate hike for next year. A 1.3 percent increase in 2013 and another 4.35 percent bump in 2014.

“If you’re a low-use customer or on our low-income program, it would mean about $3 a month. If you’re a higher-use customer, perhaps $9 or $10 a month,” said Edison spokesman Gil Alexander.

Thursday at city hall in Palm Springs the California Public Utilities Commission held hearings on the rate hikes.

Edison customers were invited to give their opinions.

“These rate increases create a tremendous burden on these home owner associations and the people that live in them,” said one customer.

Edison says the rate hikes are necessary to take care of infrastructure that’s getting too old.

“We’ll be able to keep up with replacing thousands of poles reaching the end of their service. Thousands of miles of wire and transformers. If you don’t do that, you’re going to have more run-to-failure circumstances and that will increase outages,” said Alexander.

Edison says, if approved, the increases would maintain future grid reliability and security.

Also, keep residential bills at the national average and boost the economy of the region SCE serves by creating thousands of jobs.

But many customers aren’t convinced.

“I’m very much against them until they prove they need them. That they just aren’t continuing and continuing to raise our rates. It seems we get a rate hike constantly,” said Palm Desert resident Marylin Swope.

“I’m a native Californian, I love California — but I gotta get out of here. I’m retired on a fixed income and they keep digging deeper in my pocket,” added William Anderson, also of Palm Desert.

The California Public Utility Commission’s decision on whether or not there will be a rate increase is expected to come at the end of the year.