Marin Energy looks to compete with PG&E’s electricity rates

Marin Energy Authority officials announced their rates will soon better compete with Pacific Gas and Electric Co.’s (PG&E’s), following recent action from the California Public Utilities Commission, the Marin Independent Journal reports.

According to the news source, the effort marks the first successful attempt in California to develop a new model for getting residents their electricity. The retail electricity provider serves customers in 11 cities around Marin County, who also still pay PG&E for transmission and distribution.

Marin Energy asserts that PG&E, which has the authority to charge customers extra for entering into contracts before switching energy providers, has been charging too much for the fee, and will soon increase its prices for electric generation, the news source stated.

Dawn Weisz, executive officer of Marin, said PG&E plans to raise its generation rates from 6.7 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) to 7.3 cents per kWh.

“So their rate is going from a little below ours to a little above ours,” he said.

Energy deregulation around the country has enabled electricity customers to shop for electricity rates, and has created heated competition among retail electricity providers.