FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) - Is PG&E requesting a rate increase for customers soon? The utility tells YourCentralValley.com that they are not requesting a rate increase but there may be extra costs for customers as PG&E works to comply with the Powering Up Californians Act. The Powering Up Californians Act, approved in 2023, aims to connect 2,000 more customers to the electrical grid in 2024 compared with 2023. When the California Legislature approved the act, it provided additional funding for utilities for new-service connections and capacity upgrades, according to PG&E. According to an article posted in August by PG&E, the CPUC voted in July to allow the utility company to invest up to $2.3 billion through 2026 to energize new projects. That article says the commission will review spending to ensure it is just and reasonable - before the utility needs to adjust electric rates to recoup the costs. PG&E says it will not be requesting to recover costs until after the projects are online. However, if the request for additional funding is approved (and only if the utility spends up to the requested cost caps) then a residential bill would increase by up to 1.8% compared to today's bills. "About $4.33 per month for a typical Non-CARE customer and $2.81 for a typical CARE customer using 500 kWh per month," said the company's Jeff Smith. Smith says that the $4.33 amount is based on whether the CPUC authorizes the request for additional funding - and if they spend up to the requested funding allowances. PG&E had four price hikes this year alone, with their last one being in October. The reason for the price hike was what PG&E says was a form of damage control in response to an unexpected set of natural disasters that hit the state over the past few years.