All articles tagged with #low income customers
McDonald's is experiencing a significant decline in traffic from low-income customers, who are feeling the impact of rising living costs, leading to decreased value perception and reduced visits.
Four Australian banks will refund a total of A$28 million to low-income customers after a review by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) found they were kept in high-fee accounts despite being eligible for cheaper options. The banks, including ANZ, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, and Westpac, have started migrating customers to low-fee accounts, resulting in significant future savings.
California is proposing an income-based utility plan that would restructure electric bills into two parts, with fixed costs for the grid and charges for the amount of electricity used. Low and middle-income earners would pay less, while high-income earners would pay more. The plan aims to ease the burden of high energy prices for low and middle-income Californians. PG&E and other utilities have their own proposed rate structures, with some calling for larger increases for high earners. The California Public Utilities Commission will hold hearings this summer, and changes to electric bills may not occur until 2024 or 2025.
PG&E, Southern California Edison, and San Diego Gas & Electric have proposed a joint plan to add a fixed monthly charge to electricity bills based on household income levels, while reducing electricity rates by 33%. The proposal aims to reduce monthly bills for low-income customers, but could result in higher bills for some customers. The state Public Utilities Commission will make a final decision by July 2024.
San Diego Gas & Electric has proposed a new flat-rate pricing plan for residential electric rates that would lower costs for most low- and moderate-income customers and prepare for phasing out natural gas appliances and gasoline-powered vehicles. The plan calls for four flat-rate tiers based on household income to cover the cost of transformers, transmission lines, billing, and customer service. Customers would pay the flat rate plus an average of 27 cents per kilowatt-hour of electricity used, compared to the current average of 47 cents per KWh. The utility estimates that the average low-income customer could save as much as $300 a year under the new rate plan.