"Consumers could find that their July bills have actually doubled or even tripled because of previously planned rate hikes and the utility's sliding rate structure", said Lynda Ziegler, senior vice president for customer service at Edison. In 2006, Edison had a 15% increase which was charged to consumers who used more than a modest baseline set by the California Public Utilities Commission.

This means that homeowners who were accustomed to paying lower rates because they don't use much will be charged as if they do. A typical household that pays around $80 a month saw a jump in their July bill of over $260. This tiered pricing was designed to encourage conservation because the lower electricity usage, the lower rate per-kilowatt-hour is applied.

Edison's residential customers will continue to see a jump in their electricity bills which is why many have turned to residential solar Los Angeles. Although the increases won't be quite as dramatic for DWP customers, officials say that the increases are on their way. DWP saw increases of about 30% in July of 2006 but some households saw that their bills almost tripled for running their air conditioners around the clock. Unlike Edison, which uses tiered pricing, the DWP charges the same amount across the board.