(The Center Square) – Pacific Gas and Electric, a state-supervised and state-granted monopoly that provides energy to much of California, gave $250,000 to governor Gavin Newsom’s ballot measure to issue a $6.38 billion bond for his “Treatment not Tents” initiative to tackle substance abuse and mental health disorders.
PG&E operates under a regulated monopoly under which it has an exclusive service territory in which other companies cannot compete — and is supervised by the California Public Utilities Commission, which sets rates and oversees clean energy targets.
According to The Utility Reform Network, PG&E’s newest rate hikes will increase typical energy bills by $50 per month in this year alone. PG&E rate increases are among the highest in the nation, with its rates rising 57% from January 2020 to September 2023, leading some to comment that consumers are being squeezed to fund the governor’s political pet projects.
“Shakedowns of state-regulated entities for political gain are totally legal in California as long as the forms are filled out correctly,” said Taxpayers Association Vice President of Communications Susan Shelley in a public statement.
After PG&E declared bankruptcy in 2019, in the wake of deadly wildfires caused by its power grid, the firm entered a $13.5 billion settlement with victims. California created a utility bailout fund for future wildfires to shield it and other utilities from liability. While the state did not directly bail out PG&E, the creation of this fund made it easier for the utility to secure the funding it needed to emerge from bankruptcy in 2020.
