Letters to the Editor: Can you afford your SoCalGas bill? A new way to divide haves and have-nots

To the editor: Is there anyone who read Steve Lopez’s column about Paul Hult, the 102-year-old U.S. Army veteran, and was unmoved? Living alone and faced with in-home care costs, he now has a $526 bill from the Southern California Gas Co. that he struggles to pay.

At the same time, investor-owned electric and gas utilities paid their chief executives $2.7 billion between 2017 and 2021, according to the Energy and Policy Institute.

I am appalled by this. We are definitely living in an America of haves and have-nots.

Deborah R. Ishida, Beverly Hills

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To the editor: For weeks, I debated whether I should write a letter on this subject. However, this is my way of venting outrage over our January and February SoCalGas bills.

Our bill for January 2021 was $147, and for February it was $135. In 2022, the same months’ bills were $206 and $204.

Our bill this January was $291, and in February it’s $578. Our usage actually went down from last month, but our bill doubled.

How is it possible that SoCalGas did not prepare for colder weather? We have had cold winters before.

I have a condition in which my fingers and toes spasm, causing them to turn white or blue in the cold. I put my hands over the toaster in the morning to warm them up and get the circulation back.

My husband and I are retired. We do not qualify for assistance, nor are we asking for it. Shame on SoCalGas for not doing its job properly and having middle-class retirees pay for its mistakes.

Silvia Rice, Van Nuys