Pacific Power Seeks 57% Rate Hike in Northern California, Adding About $120 a Month
Pacific Power on November 6 asked the California Public Utilities Commission to raise electricity rates by about $103.4 million, a net increase of 57 percent, effective January 1, 2027. The utility said a typical residential customer could pay about $120 more a month. The filing would raise base revenue by $82.8 million, or 56.8 percent, with residential rates up 56.9 percent.
Pacific Power, the California brand of PacifiCorp, owned by Berkshire Hathaway, serves about 46,000 customers in Siskiyou, Del Norte, Modoc and Shasta counties across more than 11,000 square miles. The company said the increase would pay for wildfire prevention, system hardening and vegetation management, plus insurance and inflation costs. About $93.8 million in deferred wildfire-mitigation costs and $11.1 million in insurance premiums will be on its books by the end of 2026 and uncovered by current rates, to be recovered over six years. Since 2022 the company says it has reinforced more than 300 miles of lines and replaced over 7,000 wooden poles with steel or fiberglass. It has not raised California rates generally since 2023. A 14 percent decrease taking effect the same day would partly offset the increase, the company said.
S&P cut PacifiCorp's credit rating three times between June 2023 and November 2025, leaving it one notch above junk. Gov. Gavin Newsom's wildfire-liability reform plan failed at the end of the legislative session, and the commission warned on November 1 that wildfire costs now make up 10 to 14 percent of a typical household bill at the state's three largest utilities. Del Norte County is preparing to take part in the review to press for a smaller increase. The commission's review could last months, and regulators may approve less than requested.
Source: PacifiCorp / Pacific Power
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
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