PG&E customers can anticipate slightly lower electric and gas bills beginning in January 2026, according to a recent regulatory filing. The average combined monthly bill for a typical residential customer is expected to be $285, reflecting decreases in both electricity and gas rates. While representing a reduction, the upcoming bills will still be notably higher than those in early 2023. This is largely due to the removal of certain wildfire mitigation costs and other factors.
customers are expected to see modestly lower electric and gas bills starting in January 2026, according to a new regulatory filing by the utility. The typical residential customer who receives both electric and natural gas service from PG&E would pay an average of $285 a month beginning with the January 2026 billing cycle — PG&E Substation A, located next to the Diridon train station in downtown San Jose, seen in October 2025.
Trump Administration intervenes in PG&E dam controversyPG&E executives said the anticipated decline reflects certain costs being removed from the utility’s rate base, following several years in which customer bills surged. “Our electricity price increases were primarily due to wildfire mitigation costs,” said Sharon Pierson, PG&E’s senior director of rates, during a conference call Tuesday, referencing the sharp rise in electric bills in recent years. Some expenses tied to wildfire mitigation are scheduled to come out of the rate base this spring, which could push monthly bills lower still, according to Benjamin Kolnowski, a PG&E director of electric rates analysis. Uncertainty remains, however, as state regulators consider final rulings in several pending cases involving wildfire costs and gas system safety — decisions that could ultimately cause bills to rise or fall depending on how much of PG&E’s interim cost recovery is approved.noted that the start of 2026 will mark the second straight year that the utility has been able to reduce monthly electricity bills. The electric component of the bill represents about 70% of the overall monthly charges. Despite the expected decline, the anticipated bills will still be far above where average PG&E bills were in early 2023, this news organization’s survey of PG&E bills shows. “We know how important stable and predictable bills are for families and businesses,” PG&E Chief Executive Officer Patricia Poppe said. “That’s why we are lowering rates, even as national prices are expected to rise.” Starting in January 2026, the average electric bill is expected to be $203 a month, down $10 from January 2025, or 3.8% less. The average gas bill is slated to be $82, a decline of $2 from a year ago, or down 2.4%. “PG&E’s claim to care about affordability would ring more true if it decided to withdraw its 10 rate increase requests currently pending at the CPUC, rather than trumpet temporary decreases brought about because customers have finally paid for some of PG&E’s overspending on tree trimming projects,” said Mark Toney, executive director of The Utility Reform Network, a consumer group. “Claims of lower bills are little more than smoke and mirrors.” In January 2025, the combined average bill for a typical residential customer rose $1 from the January 2024 average bill of $294. The $294 a month that residential customers paid at the outset of 2024 was 22% higher than the $241 a month PG&E ratepayers had to cough up in January 2023. Still, the average monthly bill that’s anticipated in January 2026 for combined services would be 18.3% higher than the similarly calculated average bill in early 2023.“We see a future where customers’ bills can start to come down,” Poppe said at that time“We’ve reduced electric rates multiple times since 2024,” Poppe said. “We remain committed to finding new ways to save and pass those savings on to our customers.”DUI suspect fatally shot by Brentwood police on Christmas Eve is identified49ers’ Christian McCaffrey battling injury ahead of Saturday showdown with SeattleLovers Point shark attack victim identified by watch, ‘shark band’ on ankleAlameda man charged with felony for hunting turkey, authorities say
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