FRESNO, Calif. (KMJ/KFSN) — About a dozen people gathered at Yosemite Falls Cafe in Central Fresno on Monday night to discuss their outrage against utility giant PG&E.
“So, I feel like if something’s gonna start, if something’s gonna happen, it’s gonna come from the Central Valley,” said one attendee.
One of the organizers of ‘Stop PG&E Now,’ Vanush Ghatchrian said the mission of the group is to create change and to put an end to high utility bills.
“We’re gonna bring it down and make people more accountable. If we’re accountable our bills every month, they need to be accountable for their part as well,” said Ghatchrian.
The group started in Northern California earlier this year. And now they’re hoping to start a chapter in the Central Valley.
Yosemite Falls Cafe owner, Manny Perales jumped at the chance to help organizers.
“I’m a big supporter of stopping PG&E because I think what they’re doing to the people of California and the small business owners is just terrible,” said Perales.
Perales said his utility bill was more than double his rent in June.
“Our rent is $9,500. $9,500 which is a pretty heavy amount to absorb if you’re a small business, but my PG&E bill was $21,300,” said Perales.
The group created a to-do list of things they’d like to accomplish moving forward. It includes attending county board meetings and engaging with people on social media. They hope it will help create change when it comes to who’s making the decisions.
“There’s a lot of fat that needs to be cut out, a lot of efficiency problems there,” said Ghatchrian.
Action News reached out to PG&E, who has said their bill structure is controlled by the California Public Utilities Commission. They said in part, “Almost a third of what our customers pay for energy today is a result of state policy and
programs. While many of these policies and programs benefit Californians, when they are paid for through utility bills, they can disproportionately burden low-income households.”
But when our news partner ABC30 Action news reached out to lawmakers on the Utilities and Energy Committee concerning those costs and programs just weeks earlier — they were told PG&E should be advocating for their customers.
They did respond to requests for comment earlier this month and said the state Legislature ultimately mandates the program.
“Stop PG&E Now” plan to host another meeting at Yosemite Falls Cafe on October 14th.
