PG&E; Unit to Request Rate Hike

PG&E; Corp.’s utility, California’s largest, said Monday that it intended to request a $654-million rate increase to pay for investments in its power and natural gas system.

The increase would raise the average electricity bill by $1.03, or 1.6%, and the average gas bill by $1.44, or 2.8%, starting in January 2007, the San Francisco-based company said in a preliminary filing with the California Public Utilities Commission.

PG&E;’s Pacific Gas & Electric utility, which serves customers in Central and Northern California, said it planned to spend more on upgrading substations and gas mains and to expand its power system to serve new customers. It also wants to recoup investments planned for its hydroelectric plants.

PG&E;’s stock, which reached a record last month on optimism that it would increase profit by investing more in its power system, fell 43 cents to $37.20.