Utility meltdown as Californians face water and power price hikes

Californians already paying some of the nation’s highest utility bills could soon get slammed with a costly double whammy: paying more for both power and water.

As Pacific Gas & Electric customers brace for potential rate hikes of hundreds of dollars a year, a deepening crisis on the Colorado River is threatening the water lifeline millions of Southern Californians depend on.

The warning comes as Lake Powell, the massive Colorado River reservoir on the Utah-Arizona border, enters summer at its lowest level on record for this time of year after a historically dry winter failed to replenish the lake.

Federal projections show the reservoir could fall to the “minimum power pool” as soon as next year — the point where Glen Canyon Dam can no longer generate hydroelectric power.

It’s more than an energy problem.

Lake Powell regulates flows into Lake Mead, which supplies water to Southern California cities, the Imperial and Coachella valleys, and supports the Colorado River system that provides water to about 40 million people across the West.

California receives the largest share of that water — roughly 4.4 million acre-feet annually.

Unlike previous years, spring snowmelt never arrived to refill the reservoir. Lake Powell is now just 23% full and sits more than 170 feet below capacity, with federal forecasts projecting inflows at roughly half of normal.

“This outcome is … a clear reminder that the Colorado River remains vulnerable,” federal water managers said in recent projections.

With supplies dwindling, California, Arizona and Nevada have proposed conserving up to 3.2 million acre-feet of water through 2028 with mandatory reductions and voluntary conservation programs tied to reservoir levels.

That could mean hundreds of thousands of acre-feet in water cuts for California, payments to farmers to leave land fallow and additional conservation mandates.

The debate is especially intense in the Imperial Valley, where farms irrigated by the Colorado River produce a significant share of the nation’s winter vegetables while consuming enormous amounts of water.

Even a wet El Niño winter would offer only temporary relief, experts say, without solving the long-term imbalance between supply and demand.

A 2025 study by UCLA found that in Los Angeles County, water bills have risen nearly 60% over 10 years, vastly outpacing inflation and straining lower-income households.

As Californians face growing uncertainty over water, many are also staring down higher electric bills.

PG&E customers could see annual energy costs rise by as much as $840 by 2030, according to estimates from the California Public Utilities Commission’s Public Advocates Office.

“The overall trend is upward and will continue to outpace inflation,” said Public Advocates Office spokeswoman Mary Flannelly.

PG&E disputes those projections, saying bills will rise far less as wildfire costs expire and spending controls take effect.

“Critics love to say PG&E [electricity] rates will go up, but we keep proving them wrong,” spokesman Mike Gazda said.

“There is a world where bills can go down,” PG&E Chief Executive Patti Poppe told the Chronicle.