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SACRAMENTO -- California lawmakers connected Monday rejected a connection aimed astatine cracking down connected however immoderate of the nation's largest utilities walk customers' money.
California's investor-owned utilities can't usage wealth from customers to wage for things similar advertizing their marque oregon lobbying for legislation. Instead, they're expected to usage wealth from backstage investors to wage for those things.
Consumer groups accidental utilities are uncovering ways astir those rules. They impeach them of utilizing wealth from customers to money commercialized groups that lobby legislators and for TV ads disguised arsenic nationalist work announcements, including immoderate caller ads by Pacific Gas & Electric.
A measure successful the authorities Legislature would person expanded the definitions of prohibited advertizing and governmental power to see things similar regulators' decisions connected rate-setting and franchises for electrical and state corporations. It would besides let regulators to good utilities that interruption the rules.
Monday, the measure failed to walk a legislative committee for the 2nd clip successful the look of aggravated absorption from utilities, including Pacific Gas & Electric.
"We've seen excessively galore examples of the blatant misuse of ratepayer funds crossed the state," said Democratic authorities Sen. Dave Min, who authored the measure that failed to walk connected Monday. "I cognize that consumers are outraged by this."
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PG&E opposed the measure due to the fact that it said it would instrumentality distant the powerfulness of authorities regulators to analyse inferior companies' costs and determine whether it is "just oregon tenable for customers to wage for them.
Plus, PG&E lobbyist Brandon Ebeck said it's due for customers to wage for the company's rank fees that spell to assorted manufacture associations due to the fact that they payment customers. He noted those groups coordinate exigency effect and wildfire training. When the warfare successful Ukraine started, the Edison Electric Institute - a nationalist relation representing investor-owned utilities - sought to find surplus instrumentality that could beryllium sent to Ukraine.
"There's a batch of benefits to customers," Ebeck said.
The measure was portion of a larger backlash against the rising outgo of energy successful California. Power is costly successful California successful portion due to the fact that of the enactment required to support and upgrade electrical instrumentality to trim the hazard of wildfires successful a authorities with long, adust summers.
As rates person continued to climb, utilities similar Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric person faced expanding scrutiny from user groups implicit however they walk the wealth they cod from customers.
Matt Vespa, elder lawyer astatine the biology advocacy radical Earthjustice, said Monday's ballot was "incredibly disappointing." He said the existent rules for utilities "incentivizes them to spot what they tin get distant with."
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As an example, Min and user groups noted PG&E spent up to $6 cardinal successful TV ads to tout its program to hide powerfulness lines to trim wildfire risk, a program that immoderate user groups opposed due to the fact that it accrued customers' bills.
The ads archetypal aired successful 2022 and diagnostic CEO Patti Poppe successful a company-branded hard chapeau portion saying the institution is "transforming your hometown inferior from the crushed up."
The inferior recorded the expenses for those ads to travel from a customer-funded relationship that is dedicated to reducing wildfire risk, arsenic archetypal reported by the Sacramento Bee. PG&E spokesperson Lynsey Paulo said the institution has not yet asked regulators to reappraisal that expense. The California Public Utilities Commission volition determine whether lawsuit funds tin wage for the ads.
Paulo noted authorities regulators let utilities to usage wealth from customers to wage for information communications connected television.
"Our customers person told america they privation to cognize however we are investing to amended information and reliability," Paulo said. "We besides usage integer and email communications, but immoderate customers bash not person net oregon email access, truthful we usage methods including tv spots to pass with each of our customers."
Some user groups accidental the ads person crossed the line.
"Only astatine PG&E would (Poppe's) attempts astatine marque rehabilitation beryllium considered a 'safety message,'" said Mark Toney, enforcement manager of the Utility Reform Network. "This blatant misuse of ratepayer funds is precisely wherefore we request SB 938 and its wide rules and required disclosures for advertizing costs."
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