People object to another SoCalGas rate increase

By ANNIKA BAHNSEN NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT

In recent months, many Southern California residents — including those in Santa Barbara County — have noticed a dramatic increase on their energy bill.

They’re outraged by it, to the point that more than 80 people got into a queue to protest against another rate hike during a virtual California Public Utilities Commission hearing Monday.

And that’s not counting the 500 written comments sent to the panel in advance.

These gas rate increases have been due to a recent infrastructure change that the Southern California Gas Co.,, the region’s main gas corporation, has made to its systems, which has been reflected on resident’s bills.

Now, as represented in the 2024 General Rate Case, SoCalGas is requesting a rate increase by 13.2% to customer’s bills in order to continue the change in infrastructure and to help in the company’s efforts to provide clean energy to Southern California.

The specifics of this request according to SoCalGas include: investing in gas delivery systems and technologies that advance clean energy, meet regulatory and compliance requirements that enhance safety efforts, and promoting programs to maintain a diverse workforce.

A lot of the public has been outraged by this request, as this increase will be very damaging to the pockets of many Southern California residents.

The residents are not the only people upset by this. Gov. Gavin Newsom and his office issued a statement regarding the uptick in prices, hoping to pass a bill of relief to residents as well as encourage an investigation on SoCalGas.

HazMat incident reported at UCSB

ISLA VISTA — A reported fire in a chemical waste storage container triggered a Hazardous Materials Incident at UCSB’s Elings Hall, Building 226, on Monday morning, officials said.

An alarm sounded with sprinkler activation, according to the Santa Barbara County Fire Department.

Approximately 70 people selfevacuated, and there were no injuries reported, Capt. Scott Safechuck, the department’s public information officer, said. City and county fire HazMat teams responded to the 10:59 a.m. incident.

Firefighters then prepared for Level A (encapsulated suit) entry for chemical sampling/testing), he said. The incident was determined to be stabilized and will be turned over to UCSB for cleanup, Capt. Safechuck tweeted on Monday afternoon. HazMat resources were released. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

— Neil Hartstein

Theft suspects apprehended

BUELLTON – Sheriff’s deputies, along with a Sheriff’s K-9 unit and California Highway Patrol have apprehended two suspected catalytic converter thieves, officials said.

On Sunday, at approximately 4:58 a.m., deputies responded to the 500 block of Sertoma Way in Buellton for a report of thefts of catalytic converters in progress, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office. While they were on their way, sheriff’s dispatch relayed that the suspects were seen fleeing the area in a Fiat. Deputies spotted a vehicle matching that description near McDonald’s in Buellton. When deputies attempted to stop the vehicle, the suspects fled and the driver entered the opposing lanes of traffic, driving southbound in the northbound lanes of Highway 101, officials said.

“Millions of California families are opening their utility bills to sticker shock — and we’re taking action now to provide relief to help those with high gas bills. We know this provides only temporary relief from soaring bills,” he continued. “That’s why I’m asking the federal government to use its full authority to investigate the spike in natural gas prices and take any necessary enforcement actions.”

Due to this backlash, the California Public Utilities Commission, the commission that is overseeing the vote to allow this request to pass, and the SoCalGas company, held a public hearing Monday to get opinions from the residents who will be directly impacted by the change.

Administrative Law Judge Manisha Lakhanpal and Commissioner Darcie Houck held the meeting and took calls from all over Southern California in order to get an accurate gauge for the public’s view on the request.

A SoCalGas representative started the hearing, giving the company’s explanation to the proposed rate increase. The representative stated that “there is never a good time to discuss price increases’’ and that SoCalGas staff “understand the impact raising the gas bill may have on low-income families.” He then continued to list the above reasons for the request.

Then a representative from the Protect our Communities Foundation voiced an opposing view of the bill. She said that the SoCalGas “should be held accountable” for its actions and should be having “a strict conversation on decreasing the rates.”

After these two perspectives, the line was open for voices to be heard. As stated at the beginning of the hearing by Judge Lakhanpal, more than 500 comments and questions were

TRAFFIC, CRIME AND FIRE BLOTTER

In the interest of public safety, deputies discontinued their pursuit of the vehicle and shared the suspect and vehicle description with the CHP who located the vehicle further south on the 101, in the southbound lanes. CHP attempted to stop the vehicle, and the driver again entered the opposing lanes and the pursuit was terminated.

CHP set up a spike strip on Highway 101 near Las Varas Canyon where they successfully disabled the vehicle that was traveling southbound in the northbound lanes.

After a short foot pursuit, the first suspect, 27-year-old Nathaniel Santiago Reyes of El Monte, was taken into custody at 5:28 a.m.

The second suspect, 32-yearold Bryan Arciniega of Los Angeles, was successfully tracked by a Sheriff’s K9 unit to his hiding place in a palm tree and apprehended at 6:30 a.m., officials said.

Deputies recovered two stolen catalytic converters from the suspects’ vehicle. Deputies have identified the vehicles that they were stolen from and are not looking for any additional victims associated with this incident, officials said.

Mr. Reyes was booked at the Main Jail in Santa Barbara on suspicion of vandalism (felony), attempt to commit grand theft (felony), possession of burglary tools (felony), possession of stolen property (felony), conspiracy (felony), obstructing a peace officer (misdemeanor) and possession of a controlled substance. He is being held on $75,000 bail. submitted to the commission as well as 85 people were in the queue for the public hearing. There was a wide variety of opinions presented by the public, but most residents came to a similar conclusion: Don’t allow the request to pass.

“(SoCalGas) does not have the right to charge whenever. We deserve full transparency,” stated one resident. This resident also called on the government to open an investigation on the gas company, saying that SoCalGas is a “monopoly” and they are “violating antitrust laws.”

One Newbury Park resident shared his price increases over the past few months, noting that his bill increased from “$42 in November, $475 in December, and $815 in January.” His voice was angry and stern, clearly showing his frustration to the SoCalGas company. There were a few voices in agreement to the request. One of these came from a representative from the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce saying that they are in “strong support” and “need this to ensure clean energy for Southern California residents.”

Another positive opinion came from an owner of a nonprofit. They stated that the organization’s gas bill is its least expensive bill and that they have “full confidence that SoCalGas knows what they are doing.”

Many more voices added to these grievances over a few hours of the public hearing. The next step in the process will come from the CPUC’s office, as the judge may accept, modify or deny the request in an upcoming voting meeting.

To see the public hearing transcript and video, visit adminmonitor.com/ca/cpuc. email: abahnsen@newspress.com

Mr. Arciniega was booked at the Main Jail on suspicion of reckless evasion (felony), reckless driving (misdemeanor), vandalism (felony), attempt to commit grand theft (felony), possession of burglary tools (felony), possession of stolen property (felony), conspiracy

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