Pacific Gas and Electric Co. lowered electric and natural gas bills for millions of California customers on Wednesday, citing falling power costs and completed projects, with most households seeing modest monthly savings starting Jan 1.
Pacific Gas and Electric, the state’s largest utility, said the reductions reflect stabilizing electricity prices and lower costs compared with last year. The change marks the fourth electric rate decrease in two years, according to the company.
Residential electric customers will see bills drop by about five percent, or roughly seven dollars per month, PG&E said in a news release. Customers enrolled in the California Alternate Rates for Energy program will see a larger cut of about six percent, or around four dollars per month.
“Electric prices have stabilized and are going down,” PG&E said, adding that the new rates take effect at the start of the year. The company serves about sixteen million people across Northern and Central California.
Residential Customers See 5% Pacific Gas and Electric Rate Cut
PG&E said the lower electric bills are tied to the completion of several rate-funded infrastructure projects. Those projects had previously added to customer costs while they were under construction.
The utility also said the price it pays to purchase electricity is lower than it was in 2025. That change, PG&E said, directly reduces the amount passed on to customers through monthly bills.
“These decreases reflect lower costs and completed investments,” said. The company noted that individual bills can still vary depending on usage and weather conditions.
PG&E cautioned that factors such as colder-than-normal temperatures can still drive higher bills even when rates fall. Customers who use more electricity or gas during winter months may not see the full benefit of the rate cuts.
CARE Households Get Deeper Discounts on Power and Gas
Natural gas rates are also declining as part of the January changes. PG&E said residential natural gas bills will fall by about three percent, or roughly one dollar per month.
For CARE customers, natural gas rates will decrease by about 2.6 percent, the utility said. The CARE program provides discounted energy rates for qualifying low-income households across California.
PG&E said the gas rate reduction reflects lower fuel costs and updated forecasts for supply expenses. The company adjusts rates periodically based on changes approved by state regulators.
“These updates are meant to reflect current market conditions,” PG&E said. The utility emphasized that CARE customers continue to receive some of the lowest energy rates available in its service area.
Rate Relief Comes After Outages and Public Scrutiny
The rate cuts arrive as PG&E faces public criticism following recent power outages in the Bay Area. On Dec. 20, a fire at a substation near Eighth and Mission streets left about 130,000 San Francisco customers without power, according to city officials.
Some customers waited several days for service to be restored. On Christmas Eve, thousands more lost power in parts of the South Bay after another substation fire, PG&E said.
The outages renewed concerns about the reliability of PG&E’s infrastructure, even as the company highlights investments aimed at improving safety and stability. Pacific Gas and Electric said it continues to work with local agencies to prevent future disruptions.
The utility said the rate decreases are separate from outage-related investigations and are based solely on approved cost changes. State regulators continue to oversee PG&E’s rates and operations.
