SCE customers to expect bill increases starting this month

With the price of nearly everything going up, Southern California Edison Company customers are going to have to now have to budget more toward their monthly bill.

The company told its customers there will be a rate change that appears on their bills toward the end of January or early February. It all depends on the customer billing cycle.

In a notice sent to customers explaining the increase, SCE stated:

"Some of the power we deliver to you comes from natural gas-fired power plants and the price we pay for natural gas has increased. SCE passes these increased costs of purchased power directly to our customers with no markup. Rising natural gas prices are affecting utilities and their customers across California and the nation. Ongoing costs of restoring and protecting the electric grid from the effects of extreme weather."

Here is a breakdown of what the increases could look like for customers.

• Residential Customers: on average $11.80 per month.
• Residential Customers in California Alternate Rates for Energy Program: $8.35 per month. (Amount can fluctuate monthly based on actual usage.)
• Small Business Customers: $31 per month based on 850 kilowatt-hours per month usage.

SCE is offering its customers to apply to its programs/plans to help offset the costs. The programs/plans are the following:

• Time-of-Use rate plan: encourages customers to shift energy usage away from on-peak hours to off-peak hours when lower rates apply. (4 p.m. - 9 p.m. or 5 p.m. - 8 p.m. depending on the rate plan chosen.)
• Budget Assistant tool: tracks energy usage in near-real time and sends alerts when usage nears a pre-selected spending goal.
• Medical Baseline Allowance Program: eligible customers using electric-powered medical/life support equipment.
• Income Qualified Programs like California Alternate Rates for Energy Program and Family Electric Rate Assistance: provide monthly bill discounts of 30% and 18%.
• SCE's nonprofit Energy Assitance Fund: One-time monetary assistance for energy bulls as much as $200 or $300 for all-electric homes.
• Payment plans/extensions: 12-month payment plans/extensions of up to 30 days.

All of these programs and plans include specific guidelines to qualify for assistance. You can find more programs and how to apply on the SCE website.

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