SDG&E accelerates reductions to provide bill relief

SAN DIEGO – San Diego Gas & Electric customers will soon see a reduction in their bill.

The bill reductions will begin in October as the Settlement Agreement for the closure of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station takes effect following approval by the California Public Utilities Commission. Originally set to begin in November, SDG&E sought CPUC approval to accelerate the reductions one month sooner to provide bill relief for customers.

“We’re happy to reach the final chapter in the SONGS settlement and provide these savings for our customers,” said Dan Skopec, SDG&E’s vice president of regulatory affairs.

There are two aspects to the customer bill reductions: a one-month refund of approximately $13.80 per typical residential customer beginning Oct. 1; and an ongoing average bill reduction of about $1.32 per month for a typical residential customer. CARE residential customers will see a one-month refund of approximately $8.50 and an ongoing average bill reduction of $0.81 per month. Bill reductions for non-residential customers will vary depending on a number of factors.

In 2013, Southern California Edison, as the majority owner and operator of SONGS, closed the plant and began decommissioning activities.

The Settlement Agreement and resulting bill reductions come after a multi-year investigation by the CPUC into the closure of SONGS and related costs. In 2014, the parties reached a settlement regarding the allocation of costs between the utilities and their customers, which was approved by the CPUC. After allegations of improper communications between SCE and the CPUC surfaced, however, the CPUC reopened the proceeding to investigate the claims and determine if the alleged communications impacted the previous settlement. No violations were alleged to have been committed by SDG&E and no penalties were assessed on SDG&E.

Submitted by SDG&E.