Changes in rents, electricity charges for apartments.(BAY AREA)

Kiplinger California Letter, The, January, 2008

East Palo Alto is freezing apartment rents for six months, fighting efforts by Page Mill Properties to boost charges to tenants between $36 and $159. Expect Page Mill to take the city to court.

Office landlords can install submeters for electricity usage under a plan approved by the California Public Utilities Commission. Typically, building owners charge companies by estimating energy use because of a 45-year-old ban on submetering. But the ban was lifted by the PUC for PG&E's coverage area so businesses would feel the impact of high electricity usage. Building owners will probably negotiate with tenants to install meters for those using a lot of electricity.