Portola Asks CPUC and Legislators for Help with Electric Bills

PORTOLA — Following discussion at a City Council meeting last week, the City of Portola has sent letters to the California Public Utilities Commission, state Senator Megan Dahle, and state Assemblymember Heather Hadwick asking for help curbing rising bills for electric service in the city.

Portola’s electric service is provided by Liberty Utilities, an investor-owned company based in South Lake Tahoe, which also serves Loyalton, Truckee, and communities on the California side of the Lake Tahoe basin, as well as areas in five other states, Bermuda and Chile.

City Manager Ryan Bonk said that Portola residents have expressed concerns to officials about steep increases in electric rates that they cannot afford, as well as about the reliability of service, particularly in winter. Electric bills for Portola customers are climbing 11% as a result of a rate increase approved by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) in March. Portola has also experienced extended winter outages that have caused hardships for city residents and businesses. Materials provided for the October 14 council meeting noted that the city is also a Liberty Utilities customer and shares residents’ concerns. Bonk said the City Council determined that it would be prudent to provide residents with information about how electric rates are set and what residents and the city can do to affect the process.

A fact sheet provided at the council meeting and available online explains that electric rates are set by the CPUC based on review of utility companies’ requests for rate increases and input from the Commission’s Public Advocate Office, customer groups and the public. Liberty’s initial request for a 19% increase for Portola was reduced after review by the CPUC, but city officials acknowledged that even the lower amount could be challenging for many residents to afford. The city’s fact sheet explains how to relay concerns to the CPUC and the state legislature, which ultimately determines the policies governing how utility rates are set.

Letters the city sent to state legislators ask them to raise Portola’s concerns with the CPUC and to examine how utilities’ costs for wildfire mitigation and insurance are allocated to ratepayers in small mountain communities. The city made similar requests in a letter to CPUC, which also asked the commission to hold a public forum in Portola so local residents can be heard without having to travel. A letter to Liberty’s regional president also asked the company to hold a public question-and-answer session in Portola in November, Bonk said.

In response to inquiries from the Mountain Messenger, District 1 Assemblymember Heather Hadwick said, “High utility rates are putting North State families under tremendous pressure as they struggle with the rising cost of everyday necessities. While I do not serve on the Assembly Utilities and Energy Committee, I am committed to pushing for answers and practical solutions for Liberty Utilities customers in Assembly District 1.” She encouraged customers to share their stories and bills with her office to show the impact and press for relief. Information can be sent to Assemblymember.Hadwick@assembly.ca.gov.

Concerns about the future of Portola’s electric service extend beyond the impact of recent rate hikes. Liberty currently obtains all the power it distributes in California through NV Energy, a Nevada-based investor-owned utility, through an agreement that is set to expire at the end of 2027. Liberty does not have generating capacity in California or connections to the California power grid, so it has issued a competitive request for proposals to identify a new energy supplier. While Liberty has publicly assured customers their service will continue through the transition to a new supplier, the impact on future rates and service quality is not known.

Some Portola residents and officials have expressed interest in the possibility of Plumas-Sierra Rural Electric Cooperative (PSREC) replacing Liberty as the city’s electricity provider. PSREC is a member-owned cooperative that serves unincorporated areas of eastern Plumas and Sierra Counties at rates significantly lower than Liberty’s. When Liberty acquired the Portola and Loyalton service areas from Sierra Pacific Power (now part of NV Energy) in 2010, PSREC, along with the cities of Portola and Loyalton and Plumas and Sierra counties, filed objections to the sale with the CPUC. PSREC’s general manager, Bob Marshall, said in materials provided for the Portola City Council meeting that the co-op would be interested in taking over Liberty’s local service territory, but could only do so if Liberty agreed to sell its assets in the area.