He smells a rat
My PG&E bill for July was $795. I have a larger home and would expect to pay more -- but not almost $800! Like previous letter writers, our usage is considerably higher than most of my neighbors with similar-sized homes and families. We use the air conditioner very sparingly, and set our thermostat at 82 degrees.
When I called PG&E, they told me the same thing: turn off my air conditioner. That is an outrageous statement for the climate in which we live. I'm not sure if it has anything to do with the SmartMeter or just the fact that PG&E has a license to steal.
I've talked to people in other parts of the valley who are not forced to buy electricity from PG&E, and their rates are considerably less.
I contacted Assemblymember Jean Fuller's office and received a very nice letter stating that "July saw several days of above 100 degree heat, which pushed many PG&E customers into the upper tiers of their rate schedule." Well, duh! The letter further stated that she was "confident" that PG&E customer service could help. (Yeah, right.)
Two days later I read in The Californian that PG&E had given Fuller $3,000, as well as Assemblyman Danny Gilmore. I guess we can't count on our local politicians to help.
I started monitoring our daily usage on the PG&E website. On Sept. 1, our SmartMeter was "upgraded" and now for the last 10 days, our usage has been "unavailable." I smell a huge rat, and its initials are PG&E.
DAN JOHNSON
Bakersfield
