560,000 California homes, and businesses without power after the storm

More than half a million homes in the US state of California are without power after a strong storm, as the area braced for the next onslaught of severe weather.

Torrential downpours and damaging winds left more than 560,000 homes and businesses without power in California early on Sunday, according to data from Poweroutage.us, which tracks outages across the country.

At least six people have died in the severe weather since New Year's weekend, according to Reuters. California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) declared a state of emergency throughout California last week.

Officials have warned of continued heavy rain, high winds and snow — and resulting flooding, mudslides and rapid river rises.

The National Weather Service said California would be hit by an “incessant parade of storms” throughout the next week.

An “atmospheric river” is crashing through the area — a narrow strip of moisture capable of carrying intense rain and snow into the area from the Pacific Ocean. Heavy rains and winds have also pushed north into Oregon and Nevada. 

“Atmospheric rivers will cause significant impact to travel & infrastructure due to heavy rain, heavy mountain snow & damaging wind gusts into next week. River flooding, mudslides, power outages, road closures, tree damage & snow load are expected impacts,” the National Weather Service predicted late Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Southern California Gas company (SoCalGas) has warned its American customers of “shockingly high” bills as new gas rates have skyrocketed.

Being the primary provider of natural gas to Los Angeles and Southern California, SoCalGas said in a statement that anyone who heats their home with natural gas is likely to see a January bill that is more than double the rate they paid a year earlier.

“There’s no easy way to put this: January bills are likely to be shockingly high,” the company said in a statement.

The customers are expected to pay about 128 percent higher bills in January, as compared with the previous month, according to the statement.

California storm leaves thousands without power, another 'atmospheric river' looms

Utility crews in northern California worked to restore power to tens of thousands of homes on Saturday following two days of fierce winds and torrential rain.

Those who typically paid around $65 a month last winter can expect to see bills closer to $160 this year. Those who paid around $130 a month could see charges jump to $315, SoCalGas reported.

The increases result from the soaring wholesale price of natural gas paid by SoCalGas and passed through to its customers. That price, set by national and regional markets, rose 2.5 times over December’s price, and is up more than 300 percent from January 2022, according to SoCalGas.

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