PG&E customers could see a major decrease this month in their energy bill costs.
The utility announced that recent developments will lead to much lower natural gas prices in March.
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The big picture: PG&E expects that the average natural gas bills will be lowered by as much as 75 percent in March compared to February.
State of play: PG&E pointed to the following three reasons leading to lower natural gas bills:
- Market prices for natural gas have dropped significantly.
- The state’s annual April California Climate Credit will be applied in March, per the direction of the California Public Utilities Commission.
- Customers are expected to use less natural gas as the warmer temperatures hit California.
Driving the news: Californians typically receive the California Climate Credit twice a year on their electricity bills and once annually on their natural gas bill.
- PG&E customers will receive $52.78 off of their natural gas bill in March because of the credit.
The backstory: Energy bills over the winter have been drastically higher than in years before throughout California.
- PG&E estimated that the average residential gas bills for January and February were around 30 percent higher than last year.
- SoCalGas customers were looking at bills that were over double what they were in 2021.
- California’s natural gas price spike resulted in prices at the end of January that were 215 percent higher than Henry Hug, the natural gas distribution hub that serves as the market’s price point.
