San Diego Community Power staff told the Finance & Risk Management Committee on Jan. 16 that a filing extension by San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) is delaying the timing of the agency’s 2025 rate proposal and shifting adoption to early February.

Lucas Buto, senior director of analytics and customer operations, said SDG&E requested and received approval from the California Public Utilities Commission to delay implementation of its 2025 commodity rates from Jan. 1 to Feb. 1, 2025, and to delay consolidated rate filings. That change prompted Community Power staff to move the proposed adoption to the first week of February; staff intends to recommend that the Board adopt rates on Feb. 7 with a retroactive effective date of Feb. 1, 2025, subject to final SDG&E and CPUC numbers.

Buto reviewed the components of Community Power’s rates: generation procurement costs, SDG&E delivery costs, the Power Charge Indifference Adjustment (PCIA), and franchise fees. He explained that customer “vintages” (2020, 2021, 2022) reflect the years of utility procurement commitments and require different rate calculations to maintain equity across customer cohorts.

Buto said SDG&E’s commodity rates were projected in the most recent SDG&E filing to increase about 6.2 percent, and that SDG&E’s next expected consolidated filing was scheduled for Jan. 31, 2025. He emphasized that final values were not yet available and that staff’s recommendations would be based on the final SDG&E filings and any CPUC actions.

A rates and strategy manager introduced as Aaron (last name not specified) spoke briefly; he was present during the briefing. Committee members asked how vintage assignments affect ratepayers; staff replied that customers are assigned vintages based on the date they enrolled in Community Power service.

The item was received for the record; staff will present a formal rate proposal to the Board in early February once final SDG&E and CPUC data are available.