SDG&E; Files for 7.5% Rise in Electricity Rates for 1990

San Diego Gas & Electric on Friday filed for its first electric rate increase since 1985, prompting critics to complain that SDG&E; is manipulating its rates to bring them in line with those charged by Southern California Edison.

SDG&E; asked the state Public Utilities Commission to raise electric rates in San Diego and southern Orange counties $92 million, or 7.5%, effective May 1, 1990.

The utility’s “typical” monthly gas-and-electric bill would rise 4%, from $58.60 to $60.95.

Michael Shames, executive director of Utility Consumers Action Network, a San Diego-based consumer group, maintained that SDG&E; executives would be hard-pressed to defend the rate rise at upcoming PUC hearings. Shames predicted that SDG&E;’s rates will decrease during 1990.

He acknowledges that some of SDG&E;’s costs have risen in recent months, but he maintains that SDG&E; is “playing games” with its rate request by beefing up its proposed rate increase to mirror a similar increase recently requested by Edison.

Shames predicted that a number of factors will combine to force SDG&E;’s rates down rather than up during the coming year.

San Diego Mayor Maureen O’Connor earlier this month pressed SDG&E; Chairman Tom Page to explain why rates were going to increase when, “just four to five months ago,” he was arguing that rates would continue to go down.

O’Connor said that anonymous telephone callers had told her that the utility wanted to increase its rates because Edison recently sought a rate rise. O’Connor and others believe Edison is pressuring SDG&E; to increase rates in San Diego.

Called an Economic Decision

SDG&E; officials denied that their rate-increase request was driven by anything other than economics.

“Our filing today is as squeaky clean as possible,” said Doug Hansen, SDG&E;’s manager of pricing. “It’s consistent with commission practices and methodologies.”

Hansen denied O’Connor’s allegation that Edison pressured SDG&E; to increase its rates to make the proposed merger of the utilities more attractive.

The rate rise, which was requested during a scheduled PUC review, was receiving intense public scrutiny because of the “volatile environment created by the merger,” Hansen said. “As we have in the past, we were extremely careful and vigilant about the accuracy of the numbers worked into” the request.

Edison spokesman Louis Phelps maintained Friday that, after rate-related actions are completed during 1990, there will be virtually no difference between systemwide averages at the two utilities. “Our rates will be almost even; perhaps we’ll be a tenth of a cent (per kilowatt hour) higher,” Phelps said.

Long-Term Forecast

Those comparable rates would be “consistent” with long-term rate forecasts assembled by the California Energy Commission, Phelps said. Rates charged by the two utilities must first be approved by commissioners. Public hearings on SDG&E;’s proposed rate rise will begin in January.

SDG&E;’s rates last rose on Jan. 1, 1985, when the PUC approved a 6.4% increase. Then, SDG&E;’s systemwide rate hit 12.2 cents per kilowatt hour. The systemwide average since has drifted down to 8.7 cents per kilowatt hour.

The increase would raise the utility’s systemwide rate on May 1, 1990, to 9.3 cents per kilowatt hour. If commissioners approve Edison’s most recent rate request, its systemwide rate would hit 9.7 cents per hour early next year.

If approved, SDG&E;’s rate-increase request would push its residential charge per kilowatt hour to 10.6 cents, up from 10 cents per kilowatt hour.