U.S. California electric bills soar over price hike, extreme heat: data

NEW YORK, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- Southern Californians are seeing their monthly electricity bills surge this summer, as increasing rates have met with increasing temperatures, with some consumers' bills skyrocketing, even by hundreds of dollars, official data showed.

There are several factors that influence electricity prices across the United States, including the cost to build, finance, maintain and operate power plants and the electric grid, as well as weather conditions and state regulations, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

In California, the driving force behind rate hikes is utilities recovering the cost of wildfire mitigation, transmission and distribution upgrades and rooftop solar incentives, according to a recent quarterly report by the California Public Utilities Commission's Public Advocates Office.

Over the last 10 years, rates at California's three big utility companies have risen as much as 110 percent, according to the report.

Layered on top of those climbing rates is an increase in energy use by customers amid excessive heat. And that's the primary reason behind larger bills, the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday cited Gabriela Ornelas, spokesperson for Southern California Edison.

Consumers have been moved to stay cool. Data from the National Centers for Environmental Information confirmed that last month was California's hottest, with an average temperature of 81.7 degrees, surpassing the prior record from July 2021 by almost two degrees.