The Redondo Beach City Council unconvinced by explanation for electric bill spikes
by Garth Meyer Redondo Beach city council members, who saw the city’s electric bill jump by $185,000 in January, accused Southern California Edison (SCE) and the Clean Power Alliance (CPA) last week of misleading residents on what some council members deemed hidden rate increases. The allegations were made at a Feb. 15 city council meeting, to address hikes of more than 100 percent on some residents’ January bills. Power company representatives at the meeting stood by their analysis that the bump was due to approved rate increases last October and January – and what specific plan a given resident is on. SCE representatives reviewed the Redondo Beach bills, they explained, and there was no evidence of errors. Whether an individual customer’s rate-plan changed, and by how much, was another question. A representative of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) also spoke at the meeting. “This is very confusing to residents, no question about it,” Mayor Bill Brand said. “Their rates have skyrocketed, and they’re gonna skyrocket some more.” Councilman Todd Loewenstein drew attention to a particular CPA rate. “I think you’re really splitting hairs here,” he said to Ted Bardake…
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