Community activists on Thursday called for lower utility costs in front of the downtown San Diego headquarters of Sempra, San Diego Gas & Electric’s parent company.The Climate Action Campaign, Public Power San Diego and San Diego 350 held the rally in response to Sempra’s latest “strong” quarterly earnings report. The company made $762 million in adjusted earnings over the second quarter of 2026 — up from $562 million over the same period last year.“Our suffering is their business model,” said Anthony Dang with the Climate Action Campaign. “Every single dollar out of that growth was pulled directly out of the pockets of families who are skipping meals, skipping medication and choosing between air conditioning and rent.”SDG&E’s average residential rates jumped 97% over the last decade, far outpacing inflation, according to the latest data from the Public Advocate’s Office of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).“Our state legislators, our incoming governor, and the CPUC commissioners who are supposed to protect us have looked the other way while a monopoly robs San Diego blind,” Dang said.SDG&E recently filed an application to raise customer rates by an average of 8.6% starting in 2028. Now the utility, ratepayer advocacy groups and regulators are wading through a complex series of proceedings — called a general rate case — to figure out whether the request is reasonable.Nearly 1-in-5 SDG&E customers are already behind on their power bills by an average of $501, according to the Public Advocate’s Office data.Logan Heights resident Barbara Pinto, who attended the rally, is among those who have had trouble making ends meet recently. The San Diego native said she had to unretire to deal with rising costs for food, medicine, insurance, gas and utility bills.“I’ll say by the decade I’ve seen an increase,” she said. “Through my high school years, my college years, through my marital years … And now that I’m a senior on a fixed income, it’s still going up. And our incomes aren’t.”Several rally attendees renewed calls to replace SDG&E with a public power utility.Craig Rose with Public Power San Diego cited two recent city-commissioned studies suggesting residents could save money in the long term, despite massive startup costs.“For each and every customer, that will mean savings of hundreds of dollars each year, thousands of dollars in years to come,” Rose said. “So for lower rates, local control and a better utility for the planet — let’s demand something better.”In response to the rally, SDG&E spokesperson Alex Welling said in a statement the utility acknowledges energy costs are a concern for customers.“And we understand the strain utility bills can place on household and business budgets. We take those concerns seriously,” the statement said. “Our focus is on providing safe, reliable energy service and helping customers manage their energy costs. Help is available through assistance programs, payment options and energy-saving tools that can help lower monthly bills.”
