PG&E increasing the rate for your utility bill by 4.6% That means if your bill is normally $100 - it will now be nearly $105. "It's a big issue that we've all been waiting to happen," said Bernard Richter, a PG&E customer. Richter lives in Chico, he said he is already spending a lot on electricity. Richter explained that he has more people living in his house with his kids visiting more often. "Yeah, I'm turning to solar, I have to turn to solar because it's such a good investment," Richter said. PG&E said it will use the extra money to improve its power safety shutoff programs as well as hardening its wildfire reduction efforts.