Summertime energy bills will be 8% higher

OAKLAND, Calif. - Summer officially begins in 10 days and power bills are expected to rise, right along with the temperature.

Two new national studies have found summer energy bills will be 8% percent higher than this time last year.

The National Energy Assistance Directors Association predicts the average family will pay $719 in electric bills from June through September — an increase of 7.9% from a year ago. Higher temperatures are the main culprit.

"If the average temperature was 80 degrees, you wouldn’t necessarily have to turn on the air conditioning, or not very much. But now we’re getting to 85-, 90-, 95-degree temperatures," Mark Wolfe, the association's executive director, told NPR. "You have to turn it on for not just comfort levels, but also for health reasons."

PG&E customers in the Bay Area are already paying more for power.

In April, the California Public Utilities Commission approved a rate hike that raised the average power bill another $5 a month.

PG&E says the money will help pay for its wildfire safety program.