joining us live now to talk about this is mark toney, executive director of turn. that's the utility reform network, a consumer advocacy organization headquartered in san francisco. mark, thanks for joining us. >> thank you for having me. >> look, before we dive in, there is a reason everyone, including, you know, on social media, on reddit, in person, everywhere is talking about this. how much p-g-and-e's bills have gone up recently? give us some numbers so we can understand why this is such a big issue in california right now. >> in 2023 alone, p-g-and-e's bills went up 33, and since beginning of the year, it's gone up even more. people have a right to be upset at the california public utilities commission for approving all these increases and for p-g-and-e's for overspending its budgets. >> well, let's talk about that, right. the cpuc, that's the agency that regulates utilities drastically. and recently, they made a decision that really drastically changed how customers will be billed going forward, including allowing a new fixed fee. explain that to us. >> the c

now, the switch from pg and e could cost lots of time and money, according to mark toney, the executivetor of the utility reform network or turn, he thinks it's unlikely the richmond city council's resolution will snowball statewide. you have to buy out the investors. you have to pay for the wires, for the poles, for the whole infrastructure for. and that's a years long process. toney says when the sacramento municipal utility district took over pg and e, it cost billions of dollars and it took decades. he says it's a faster and cheaper way to do things, and it's in the hands of state lawmakers right now. we need to hold shareholders responsible for paying 50% of all cost overruns, instead of ratepayers paying 100. he's calling for a law capping rate hikes and for pg and e to choose the least expensive solution to wildfires, for example, insulating wires instead of burying them, and the pg and e spending ratepayer money for television commercials for self promotion. we've seen something like this before. san francisco attempted to cut ties with pg and e in 2019, and offered a $2 billion

mark toney of the utility reform network says people who could see prices rise are those using solar and people along the coast who don't use the air conditioning as often. he says they could see bills rise by about 3 to $5 a month. those who could see lower bills include people in hot climates like the east and south bay, and in the central valley, who use their ac much more often . low income households and electric vehicle owners who charge at home. the proposal's goal is to make utility bills more equitable and make it cheaper to go electric, toney says. it's a small step in the right direction. we need rate reduction, rate relief and this is a tiny part of it. but so much more needs to be done to bring these rates down. critics argue this new flat fee is essentially punishing those who conserve power, while subsidizing people who use more customers. we talked to say they worry any savings won't be enough to make a dent in the already sky high bills. electricity is just outrageous. it's hard to even pay a bill. normally a bill was 6070 bucks. now it's almost $200 and it's a small

now, the charges will fund utility infrastructure improvements, mark toney, executive director of the utility reform network, tells us this plan should result in more equitable contributions across the state. >> people who live in the coast, who have cooler climates, who n't use as much electricity. we'll see a small increase, but that is so that people in the central valley who have the lowest income and the highest energy use, get a little bit of a break. >> lower income customers will see a flat rate of six to or $12. the new fees are set to take effect in 2026. investigators in hayward are trying to determine the cause of a vegetation fire that destroyed several cars and threatened dozens of homes. it was first reported shortly before noon in hayward's jackson triangle neighborhood, just east of highway 92 and interstate 880. the first firefighters who arrived on scene spotted huge flames shooting up through clusters of eucalyptus trees. one woman immediately took action once she spotted the fast moving fire racing towards her home. i jumped out, got my family out and then i don't

mark toney, executive director of the utility reform network, tells us this plan should result in morele contributions really across the state, people who live in the coast, who have cooler climates, who don't use as much electricity will see a small increase, but that is so that people in the central valley who have the lowest incomes and the highest energy use, get a little bit of a break . the new fees are set to take effect in 2026. >> hayward firefighters responded to a vegetation fire that destroyed several cars and threatened homes. ktvu jana katsuyama has the latest on what happened, as investigators are still trying to figure out what started the fire. >> the flames, frighteningly close to homes, shot up through the trees behind a house on lucien way in hayward thursday afternoon. >> it was really, really scary. >> lucy nieto was home is adjacent to the trees in her neighbor's backyard that caught on fire a shock, she says. seeing the flames so close, i jumped out, got my family out and then i don't know what came over me. >> but basically i just thought, well, maybe i could s

mark toney, executive director of the utility reform network, tells us this plan should result in morele contributions across the state. >> people who live in the coast, who have cooler climates, who don't use as much electricity, we'll see a small increase, but that is so that people in the central valley who have the lowest incomes and the highest energy use, get a little bit of a break. >> lower income customers will see a flat rate of 6 or $12. the new fees are set to take effect in 2026. >> well, the us supreme court is deliberating the fate of grants pass versus johnson. and whatever the outcome, hundreds of thousands of people nationwide currently living on the streets will be affected and at some time over the next few months, the justices could release their decision on whether a ban and a fine on homeless encampments is cruel and unusual. but some don't believe solving this complex issue lies in the courts. so with us now for more insight is elizabeth funk, who is the ceo of dignity moves. elizabeth, thank you so much for joining us. first, elizabeth, before we get to the det