In August 2010, the WMA (the mobilehome park owner's association) requested the CPUC (California Public Utilties Commission) approve the transfer of utilities that are master-metered to the respective ulities. For residents of San Diego County, this would mean that if your park is master-metered, you would receive billing for your electricity and gas from SDG&E instead of having it included in your space rent bill.
The CPUC approved the request in February of this year and is now in the process of figuring out the process for the transfer. The WMA released a form letter to its member parks to minimize the level of interest and concern by the residents, and most parks have distributed the letter with an explanatory letter from SDG&E. There is approximately 15 months left in this process, but the CPUC wants to hear from residents about the condition of their utilities and their opinions on the transfer. We will provide the contact information at the end of this article.
The actual transfer is a good thing; right now I would imagine that if you compared your utility bill to another master-metered park, your rate structure would be greatly different. The uniformity of the service and the billing from the state controlled utility will more than likely result in possible savings. The key issue is the cost of the transfer and who should pay that bill.
Currently, your park owner - if you are in a master-metered park - pays a reduced amount for the electricity and gas from the amount that they charge you. Example: if you pay $100 for utilties, your park owner might pay $80. This is legal and the money that the park owner collects from this premium was designed to be used to maintain the utilities infrastructure. The WMA, in its request for transfering utilities, does not want to pay for infrastructure upgrades that the utilities are requiring. This is the key to the entire process.
The CPUC is collecting information to make its determination as to who pays for the transfer. In this process, it is collecting information on status of utilities infrastructure, number of residents on sub-metering, age of the infrastructure in the parks, inspection reports and much more. We will continue to keep you up-to-date on the process.
To contact the CPUC to enter your comment or concern about the transfer process, you can use the following information:
LA CPUC Office:
Public Advisor Office
CPUC
320 West 4th St, Ste 500
Los Angeles, CA 90013
1-323-576-7055 or 1-866-849-8391
TTY 1-866-836-7825
public.advisor.la@cpuc.ca.gov
