Staff Reports
In a shocking turn of events, California lawmakers shot down a proposal that would have put the squeeze on utility companies’ spending habits. According to some folks, these companies have been playing fast and loose with the rules on spending money on things like advertising and lobbying, using customer cash to foot the bill. The proposed new law would have put the kibosh on these shenanigans and slapped fines on those who dared to break the rules.
— Dr. Joel P. Rutkowski- President (@RutkowskiDr) April 23, 2024
Democratic state Sen. Dave Min, the brain behind the failed bill, trotted out the usual line about how consumers are getting a raw deal. He’s all in a tizzy about the blatant misuse of ratepayer funds, and he’s convinced that regular folks are just plain fed up with the whole rigmarole.
The utility bigwigs like Pacific Gas & Electric Company weren’t about to take this lying down. They raised a ruckus, claiming that if this bill passed, it would tie the hands of state regulators when it comes to poking around in utility companies’ business. They’re standing firm in their belief that customers should foot the bill for all sorts of odds and ends, and by golly, they’re not shy about saying so.
The folks at PG&E even had a chat with our friends over at Fox News, and they made sure to mention that there are plenty of perks to customers when the company shovels out cash for industry associations. They’re all about customer benefits, no doubt about it.
The rising price tag on keeping the lights on was the spark that set off this whole hullabaloo, what with all the fuss over fixing up power equipment to keep the wildfires at bay. But not everyone was on board with shutting down this bill — Matt Vespa from Earthjustice called the lawmakers’ decision a real wet blanket. He thinks the current rules for utilities are just asking for trouble, giving these companies free rein to see what they can get away with.
And then there’s talk of Pacific Gas & Electric Company plunking down up to $6 million on ads about burying power lines to cut down on wildfire risk, an effort that might just hike up customers’ bills. Consumer groups say it’s all a fancy ploy to spruce up the company’s image, masquerading as a safety measure.
