State Sen. Scott Wiener introduces bill to help cities 'break up' with PG&E

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- California Senator Scott Wiener says his latest measure would assistance cities sever ties with PG&E.

Sen. Wiener is calling it the "Breakup Bill," which would easiness the load of impervious required for San Francisco to warrant its power from a backstage to publically owned utility.

"We are done, and it is clip for San Francisco to interruption up with PG&E," Wiener said Monday.

Wiener took to the steps of San Francisco City Hall to present SB 875.

MORE: SF supervisors grill PG&E officials astir wide outage past December, demanding accountability

"It is clip for California to get superior astir giving San Francisco and different cities the quality to marque that breakup a reality, to really beryllium capable to marque that decision, and that is what this authorities volition do," helium said.

At his Monday property briefing, Wiener said this comes aft the bid of blackouts starting successful December. He besides criticized PG&E's attraction and lawsuit rates.

Conversations astir nationalist powerfulness person gone backmost decades; successful caller years, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission made offers to PG&E that were refused successful 2019.

Another connection was made by the metropolis successful 2020, and that was besides declined.

Wiener said his authorities would let cities to usage eminent domain, an enactment helium says is virtually intolerable close now.

MORE: SF astir had its ain powerfulness grid 100 years agone until PG&E came along. Here's what happened

"Normally, authorities tin workout eminent domain nether agelong established standards that person been astir for the past of California," helium said. "The utilities person enactment poison pills successful to say, successful summation to each that, you person to bash a clump of different things that marque it unbelievably hard and let the utilities to conscionable resistance retired the process and marque it overly analyzable and astatine times, perchance intolerable to really beryllium capable to bash the eminent domain, whether done the CPUC oregon successful court," helium said.

PG&E released a connection that said:

PG&E has had the privilege of serving the residents of Northern and Central California for much than 100 years, and we stay committed to serving them for galore years to come. Government takeovers of parts of our grid would not marque lawsuit vigor bills little expensive.

San Francisco has dramatically underpriced the worth of PG&E's electrical system, suggesting that the assets successful San Francisco are worthy lone astir $2-$3 billion. Not lone is that a lowball amount, but the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has been wide that the City and County of San Francisco (CCSF) would person to wage acold much than the worth of the assets, which means a takeover volition thrust customers' rates up, not little them.

Specifically, the CPUC determined that implicit and supra the just marketplace worth of immoderate PG&E assets that it wants to take, San Francisco would besides person to wage PG&E to rebuild its strategy aft the separation and marque each customers whole. This means that:

San Francisco volition person to wage not lone the just marketplace worth for immoderate PG&E assets it wants to acquire, but besides screen 2 large further costs. First, San Francisco would beryllium liable for each expenses to abstracted its strategy from PG&E's, including gathering caller substations and lines to guarantee PG&E tin proceed serving its remaining customers. For example, if San Francisco takes implicit PG&E's Martin substation, it would person to wage for PG&E to conception wholly caller infrastructure to support reliable work successful San Francisco and San Mateo Counties.

San Francisco would besides beryllium PG&E concern severance damages-these are captious authorities argumentation charges that screen costs specified arsenic wildfire mitigation and enactment low-income customers. Current PG&E customers wage these charges, and CCSF would beryllium liable for them to marque definite that these costs are not unfairly shifted onto those customers who proceed to person electrical work from PG&E. If these costs are ignored, PG&E's remaining customers are near paying more.

At PG&E, we're focused connected existent solutions for driving down costs. In January 2026, PG&E dropped prices for the 4th clip successful 2 years. Residential electrical prices are present 11% little than they were successful January 2024, for customers who get some vigor proviso and transportation from PG&E. An mean lawsuit utilizing 500 kWh of usage per period is paying astir $20 little for their monthly bill. By moving smarter and modernizing our processes, we've besides reduced costs for customers by $3.5 cardinal implicit 4 years, enabling america to bash much enactment for customers and usage the savings to assistance offset the costs of immoderate of that work.

Wiener said he's calling for the process to find the worth to beryllium completed, but helium said PG&E has, for years drawn retired the CPUC process to find retired the value.

Now that the measure introduced, it volition beryllium referred to committees.

Wiener said the archetypal proceeding of the measure could hap sometime successful the Spring. If it moves through, it volition person to beryllium sent to the politician by the extremity of August.