PG&E raised rates an average of 15% per annum. They are projected to continue, and that's a compound calculation there, too. These are publicly traded utilities, i.e. they have stock/shareholders.
I see fishwhistle has read a bill breakdown, and yes, that's how it works. You/we (the ratepaying customer) pays for the infrastructure monthly. Yet, we have no rights to the infrastructure. It might actually be a good idea to invest in companies like PG&E, because they're in bed with the CPUC. If folks knew how the California Public Utilities Commission actually operates, they'd be up in arms. Or maybe it's just that we, collectively, don't care. United States of Apathy and all.
In *any* event, this is why I pushed so hard to get our home on solar when the offer came down the pipe last year. Thanks to federal stimulus funds, these electrons are being created and delivered to you via solar power. We pay down the (0% APR) loan over 15 years, and we own the solar array and generator outright. Increase the value of our home while making ourselves almost completely energy independent will ultimately prove far more valuable. Not that installing a 12KW solar array increased our home's value all that much, but ya gotta do whatcha gotta do, ya know?
Btw, we used to see power bills from PG&E in the $500-$800 range, BEFORE I ever grew a single plant inside.