Thousands of PG&E customers stand to get refunds for billing violations

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. must refund $35 million to customers who received long-overdue or estimated bills in violation of state rules, California regulators decided Thursday.The refunds will go to some 230,000 PG&E customers, who will receive the money early next year. The refunds, ordered by the California Public Utilities Commission, will appear as a credit on monthly electricity and gas bills."This is a relatively straightforward issue," said Commissioner John Bohn. "Customers were illegally billed."The commission, however, did not slap PG&E with any fines, saying there was no evidence that the utility acted with ill-intent. A PG&E spokesman said the San Francisco company was disappointed in the decision, particularly in the commission's insistence that the refunds be paid from profits that otherwise would have gone to PG&E shareholders. But the company will not contest the decision, said spokesman Brian Hertzog."We're planning to move forward with the refunds," he said. Thursday's decision ends a long and embarrassing episode for PG&E. For years, the commission fielded complaints about improper billing by the utility. Some customers didn't receive PG&E bills for months on end, only to get one big bill for all the time missed. Other people received monthly bills that turned out to be estimates, not based on the amount of power they actually consumed. In some cases, the utility then said the estimated bills were too low and demanded higher payments. SOURCE OF THIS STORY