UTILITIES COMMISSION SIDES WITH COMMUNITY ENERGY PROGRAM
San Diego Community Power says SDG&E tried to undermine its launch
The California Public Utilities Commission on Thursday sided with the soon-to-launch San Diego community energy program in a dispute it had with San Diego Gas & Electric.
San Diego Community Power — which will begin to purchase power for customers in San Diego, Chula Vista, La Mesa, Encinitas and Imperial Beach later this year — had complained to the commission that data SDG&E intended to use to calculate rates would make the new energy program less attractive to prospective customers.
SDG&E argued it was using numbers it was authorized to employ as part of a general rate case that is still being considered by the commission.
But in a 4-0 vote, the commission, or CPUC, sided with San Diego Community Power and directed SDG&E to use an updated forecast for energy sales.
“This was not an easy decision,” said CPUC president Marybel Batjer at the meeting, held remotely due to COVID-19 restrictions. “In my mind, this outcome best accounts for the shifting realities ... in the San Diego area while minimizing the impact on ratepayers during these difficult financial times.”
In filings to the commission, SDG&E predicted a rate decrease of 12.35 percent in the coming year. While that appears to be good news for cus
Even with the public offering, the principal stockholders will continue to have a controlling interest, maintaining nearly 82 percent of voting power.
In its prospectus, which is a detailed pitch to potential shareholders, Coughlin touted a company turnaround that has been defined by the late 2018 decision to end the sale of food with artificial ingredients, and accented by the recent removal of shock collars from shelves. In between, the business has been buoyed by an emphasis on services such as veterinary care, training and grooming. The pandemic, which has increased demand for new pets, has also helped to improve the business, he wrote.
Today, the pet food and services company operates 1,470 brick-and-mortar locations with a reported customer base of nearly 21.5 million people.
In the 39 weeks ending on Oct. 31, Petco reported net sales of $3.6 billion, growing 9 percent over $3.3 billion in net sales during the same
period in the prior year. It also improved from a net loss of around $94 million in the 2019 period to a net loss of $24.8 million in the 2020 time frame. The firm, however, has an outstanding debt balance of $3.3 billion, with proceeds from the sale of
shares expected to go toward interest payments on loans.
Priorities going forward include expanding the services business — veterinary care in particular — and doubling down on digital sales, Coughlin told the
Union-Tribune.
To the latter point, the executive touted online and physical infrastructure improvements over the past year that have turned stores into micro-distribution centers.
“One of the things that is really, really exciting is just what a competitive advantage, believe it or not, our (stores) can be,” he said. “What’s happening now is 80 percent of our e-commerce orders are being fulfilled in ... our stores.”
The figure includes online orders that are packaged and shipped from stores, orders picked up curbside or orders delivered by a same-day delivery provider.
Coughlin, who took over as chief executive in June 2018, earns a base salary of $869,125 and is eligible for a more than $1 million annual bonus plus other awards, company filings show. His total compensation package in fiscal 2019 was valued at $9.6 million. In the spring of this year, the CEO agreed to forgo his base salary for a 43day period as the firm weighed the economic consequences of the pandemic.
Petco said in the prospectus that it would grant Coughlin equity awards valued at $12.5 million in connection with the public offering.