The average San Diego Gas Electric customer can expect to see about a $4 increase in their energy bill next month, an SDGE representative said Monday. SDGE executives participated in an annual presentation on Monday to update the city council about how rates are forecast to increase, and the cou ncil was able to ask questions about any efforts to mitigate costs going up. “The rates have soared, in my opinion, out of control,” Barbara Pinto said. “People like me are struggling to pay rent.” The average SDGE customer can expect to see a modest uptick in their energy bill next month — about a $4 increase for electric delivery and natural gas. We are in the middle of a three-year SDGE rate increase that was approved by the California Public Utilities Commission. SDGE says wildfire mitigation efforts could be part of the reason bills are going up. “We know customers depend on us each and every day, and it’s something that we take very seriously and will continue to invest in and make sure those customers have great service,” an SDGE representative said. On the precipice of her 80th birthday, Pinto had to get a part-time job just to get by. “We’re trying to make our dollars stretch right now. As it is, we’re stretching to the limit. Some of us are going without food, even. We’re going to places to get food supplements from churches and everything else just to make it every month,” Pinto said. One of the costs that is increasingly unaffordable, she says, is her electricity bill. “We don’t have trees in the backyard to go picking dollar bills off of,” Pinto said. But Parke Troutman with San Diego 350 isn’t sold on the logic behind the climbing costs. “We have some of the highest electricity rates in the country,” Troutman said. Troutman says San Diego is missing out on cheaper and cleaner energy provided by its most famous resource. “We have some of the most sun in the country. We have a lot of potential for solar,” Troutman said. Pinto says energy is not optional for San Diegans but that people will have to continue making painful decisions if costs go up — even incrementally. “We need energy,” Pinto said. “Make it affordable for us. Be fair.” NBC 7 received a statement from SDGE, which reads, in part: “We know that any change in energy costs makes a difference to our customers, and we work to keep bills as low as possible while continuing to deliver the safe, reliable energy that families and businesses across Southern California depend upon every day.” A climate power report shows energy bills in the U.S. have gone up about 13% since the start of last year. ...read more read less