The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) will continue today to host its series of public meetings regarding a potential rate increase sought by Southern California Edison (SCE) as the company seeks to increase revenues to cover its cost of operations.

If approved by the CPUC, the rate increases could reflect an increase in customers’ bills ranging from $3.75 per month in 2018 up to $7.29 per month by 2020. The estimated figures are based off residential customers’ usage of the system-wide average of 600 kilowatt-hours per month.

The application to increase the rates was filed in September by SCE with potential increases going into effect January 1, 2018.

Today’s meetings at 2:00PM and 7:00PM respectively will be held at Lancaster City Hall in Lancaster, CA with separate meetings scheduled to be hosted in Azusa, South Gate and Santa Ana. The first and only opportunity for Long Beach residents to have their voices heard without traveling outside the city falls on Wednesday, May 17 during a 2:00PM meeting inside the Port of Long Beach’s interim offices near the airport.

For those unable to attend the public participation hearings, written comments can be submitted to the CPUC public advisor at 505 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102 or by email at [email protected].

The Port of Long Beach administrative buildings are located at 4801 Airport Plaza Drive.

Jason Ruiz covers City Hall and politics for the Long Beach Post. Reach him at [email protected] or @JasonRuiz_LB on Twitter.