A small nonprofit in San Diego County is taking on a billion-dollar utility over a proposed rate hike, arguing that wildfire safety should not amount to a blank check for power companies.
For residents already struggling to keep up with rising monthly costs, the dispute could help determine how much they pay for electricity and gas starting in 2028.
Here's what to know
As KPBS reported, the Mussey Grade Road Alliance is part of the case over SDG&E's proposed 8.6% increase in monthly bills for 2028. The nonprofit is led by Diane Conklin and Joseph Mitchell, who live in fire-prone Ramona, California, and have challenged utility projects they say endanger communities and burden customers with excessive costs.
Experts project that the proposal would add roughly $14 to a typical electric bill compared with 2027 estimates, while a typical natural gas bill would rise by more than $8. SDG&E said the request is tied to costs related to wildfire insurance, maintenance, and operations.
For Conklin and Mitchell, the issue is personal. KPBS reported that the 2003 Cedar Fire burned more than 250,000 acres in San Diego County and, Mitchell said, destroyed about two-thirds of their neighborhood. When SDG&E proposed the Sunrise Powerlink through that same valley in 2006, the couple turned their attention to utility infrastructure.
State findings added weight to their concerns. The California Public Utilities Commission found an improperly maintained SDG&E power line caused the 2007 Witch Creek Fire. Further, Cal Fire data shows that power lines have sparked more than a quarter of California's most destructive wildfires.
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More background
Figures cited by KPBS from the CPUC Public Advocate's Office show 18% of SDG&E households were behind on their bills in the second quarter of 2026, with average arrears of $501. The same office found that SDG&E rates have risen 97%.
At the same time, KPBS also reported that Sempra, SDG&E's parent company, posted $762 million in adjusted earnings in the second quarter of 2026, up from $562 million in the same period of 2025.
"Something's got to be done to give the ratepayers of California some relief," said Conklin, per KPBS. "It just seems to be ratcheted up over and over."
Because SDG&E is a regulated monopoly, customers don't have the option to shop around if rates climb. When utilities take on costly infrastructure projects, households are often left to absorb the impact through their monthly bills with little, if any, recourse.
What's being done?
In California, groups such as the Mussey Grade Road Alliance and the nonprofit Utility Consumers' Action Network take part as intervenors. These groups review complex utility filings, submit testimony, and argue that regulators should reject spending they view as unnecessary. In SDG&E's 2024 rate request cycle, the utility sought to recover $2.995 billion from customers, with CPUC commissioners approving a slightly reduced amount of $2.669 billion after formal protests by advocates.
This process does not prevent utilities from investing in wildfire prevention, but it can subject those investments to closer scrutiny. Edward Lopez, the UCAN Executive Director, said his group is examining whether all of SDG&E's proposed wildfire projects are truly worth the cost to customers.
"Most parties would agree there's worth to a certain level of investment," Lopez said. "But at what point does your return on that investment start to diminish, and the investment itself starts outweighing that return?"
In the end, the CPUC's five voting members will make the final decision on the 2028 proposal.
For their part, Conklin and Mitchell know their work is making a difference, even if it is in the form of crises averted.
"You'd never actually get to see the effect of the fire that doesn't start, but I know it's out there," said Conklin, per KPBS. "And when utility bills are up less than they would have been up otherwise, I know I'm part of that too."
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