PG&E Sparks Outrage With Shameless Move That Will Pummel 16 Million Across California
Source: The New York Post |By Zain Khan
Customers collectively saved about $170 million because of the company’s gas purchasing strategy, according to PG&E. Under rules established by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), most of those savings remain with customers, while shareholders may receive a performance-based incentive if procurement costs fall below market benchmarks.
Mark Toney, executive director of The Utility Reform Network (TURN), argued that customers already bear the financial burden when PG&E exceeds spending expectations, making it unfair for them to also finance rewards when costs come in below projections. “Because PG&E thinks they did well and keeping it not too high, they wanna reward just for doing their job. And their job is to keep rates as low as possible,” Toney said. “If they want their shareholders to be rewarded when they underspend, then their shareholders should be held accountable when they overspend. And that’s not what PG&E is asking for.”
