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L.A. County Supervisors Call On State To Investigate Natural Gas Price Spike

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to ask the State of California to launch an investigation into natural gas utility bill spikes that have been reported over the last month.

Natural gas prices are up nearly 300% since January 2022, prompting the motion to call on state authorities, introduced by Fifth District Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who represents the Santa Clarita Valley, and co-authored by Second District Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell.

The motion directs L.A. County’s legal team and relevant County departments to issue a letter on the Board’s behalf to relevant leaders of the California State Legislature – including the Chair of the State’s Senate Standing Committee on Energy, Utilities, and Communications and the Chair of the Assembly Committee on Utilities and Energy, according to Barger’s Office.

“Exorbitant natural gas price spikes are upending our constituents’ abilities to pay for the essential utility service that keeps them warm during these cold winter months,” Barger said. “We need to examine what is driving this unexpected price increase and also develop relief strategies that will reach the many people who will struggle to pay gas bills that tripled overnight. We can’t wait for this issue to fix itself.”

The motion also directs the County’s team of legislative and legal experts to monitor the California Public Utilities Commission’s formal review of natural gas providers’ price spikes,.

“The surge in natural gas prices have had sweeping effects in the County, and low-income households are disproportionately impacted by the shocking and unforeseen price increases,” Supervisor Mitchell said. “The CPUC must investigate the issue, and our natural gas partners must do more to help families lower the cost of their bills. Our region’s vulnerability to natural gas supply fluctuations is one more reason why the County must urgently move away from fossil fuel dependence.”

The motion further directs County departments to explore opportunities for financial assistance for vulnerable communities facing higher-than-expected natural gas bills.

Additionally, the County plans to collaborate with SoCalGas to increase awareness of various programs to help consumers, including financial assistance, usage trackers, and information to help navigate the spike in natural gas costs.

The Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 to approve the motion Tuesday


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L.A. County Supervisors Call On State To Investigate Natural Gas Price Spike

9 comments

  1. Good luck with the usage tracker as it is down about 99% of the time.

  2. CA’s unique and forced push into green energy beyond technical capabilities is what is driving this. Other States did not get this same increase so the claim that this was just a cost of goods sold issue is not entirely true. Somewhat akin to why gas is so much more costly in CA than anywhere else. It is regulations that drive this.

  3. Nationally, Nat Gas is $3.35 down from $8.35 in July and peaked at over $20 in 2005. This current spike in price to the customer is NOT driven by the market cost of the product.

  4. I used one less therm this month than last month and my bill was UP 88% in that SAME period. And in this bill is an insert where the gas company is asking for a price INCREASE. Only in California…what a state.

  5. Mine went from $157.00 to $418.00 in one month! Nearly the same usage!

  6. The city of Santa Clarita issued an “avoid the area” alert Tuesday evening following a reported gas leak in Saugus. The alert also shared that delays and lane closures were to be expected.

    “At approximately 12:29 p.m. yesterday we were made aware of a gas leak via an area odor,” said a SoCal Gas representative on Wednesday.

    On Wednesday morning at 6:24 a.m., the city made a followup message to the alert saying that the gas leak was due to a broken gas line at Bouquet Canyon Road and Haskell Canyon Road.

    How much you want to bet they’ll increase our rates to cover this incident . I doubt they’ll cover the cost

  7. Mine went from $82 to $178 this month. I was floored when I got the bill. Keep voting Democrat. They are insane.

  8. Politicians always announce they will investigate price increases but nothing ever becomes of it. Even if they find that there is no reason, there’s nothing they can or will do about it. Political theater to show that they care. They actually may care, but they know there is nothing they can do about it when they make these claims.

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About Jade Aubuchon

A Santa Clarita native, Jade has spent her whole life involved in community outreach. After graduating from Learning Post High in 2015, she went on to College of the Canyons to pursue a double major in English and Marketing. Jade spent several years as a ballroom dance performer for a local studio and has performed at public and private events throughout Santa Clarita. As KHTS Co-News Director Jade oversees the KHTS news team, which covers all the latest news impacting Santa Clarita. Along with covering and writing her own news stories, Jade can be heard broadcasting the daily local news every weekday morning and afternoon drive-time twice an hour on KHTS 98.1FM and AM-1220. Jade is also instrumental in reporting on-the-scene local emergencies, covering them on-air and via Facebook Live and YouTube. Another dimension to Jade’s on-air skills and writing are her regular political and celebrity interviews, including her bi-monthly interview with our Congressman Mike Garcia and many other local politicians and community leaders.