IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
Moreno Valley has declined to raised its utility rates.
Council members Tuesday refused to vote on a resolution that would have kept the city’s utility rates commensurate with Southern California Edison rates, according to a statement on the city’s website.
“Raising utility rates is the last thing we would even consider right now,” said Mayor Gutierrez in the statement, alluding to the COVID-19 pandemic. “We need our residents to know that we are working day and night to ease their burden as much as possible in these uncertain times.”
Moreno Valley has its own utility. By law, the city-owned utility’s rates must keep pace with SC Edison’s rates. That’s why the proposed rate hike – reportedly eight percent for the typical user – was on the agenda.
The city’s disaster council, which is led by the mayor, recently suspended late fees, disconnections and any rate increases for Moreno Valley Utility while the Coronavirus crisis continues.
The city-owned utility serves about 6,100 residential and commercial customers in Moreno Valley, while Southern California Edison provides power to roughly 50,000, according to the statement.
