1 Andrea Pizano
From: Serge Bonte < >
Sent: Wednesday, December 14, 2022 9:24 AM
To: Andrea Pizano
Cc: [email protected]; [email protected] Subject: re: SVCE 12/4/22 Board Meeting - Agenda Items 1.d and 4 -Various Rates Adjustments ATTENTION: This message is from an external user. Confidential information such as social security, credit card, bank routing, wir transfer and other personally identifiable information should not be transmitted to this user. For questions, please contact the SVCE IT Department.
Dear SVCE Board Directors:
Back in February, you decided to jack up SVCE generation rates by more than an already very high inflation rate. That adjustment was not because of increased generation costs (green electricity is becoming cheaper and cheaper...) but solely because you had an opportunity to match PG&E rate hikes.
Your announcement tried to be cute by highlighting a remaining 1% discount over PG&E's rates while mostly glossing over the greater than inflation rate increases.
Unsurprisingly, as shown in your agenda materials, this resulted in a windfall for SVCE ..... on the back of your customers.
You're now contemplating using close to 30M in excess revenue to..... discount the rates you just increased in February.
Maybe it's time for SVCE to set its rates based on its costs vs. overcharging customers to fund programs. I'm all for having programs to reduce our carbon footprint as long as they are financed by fair taxes not by rate increases.
In the meantime, I support upping the discount over PG&E for all customers (to 4‐5% as proposed or even higher). I also support the program to improve existing electric heating in low income homes ‐upgrading wasteful electric baseboard heaters to heat pumps‐
However I don't support the proposed 10% discount for customers who might qualify for the new E‐ELEC rate structure.
Those customers are generally wealthier and own their single family home. They are wealthy enough to afford voluntary de‐carbonization investments (heat pump....) so most likely less price sensitive than other customers. You should also consider the optics of offering the deepest discount rates to the wealthier of your customers. I would suggest you up the discount rate to ALL customers vs. that non equitable double track discount.
Sincerely
Serge Bonte, Mountain View