PG&E profits hop higher as revenue is surging

Utility titan predicts 2024 profits will top 2023's $2.3B

PG&E's profits soared higher in 2023, buoyed by surging electricity and natural gas revenues.

The Oakland-based power company earned an eye-popping $2.24 billion in profits last year, an increase of 24.6% from 2022, PG&E reported on Thursday. The report also predicted the utility titan's investors can anticipate even better earnings in 2024.

The news comes as customers have seen their monthly PG&E bills spike and as the company has asked state regulators to approve even higher rates that it says are necessary to pay for improvements to equipment to prevent the types of catastrophic wildfires it has caused in the past.

The Utility Reform Network, a consumer advocacy group that goes by TURN, blasted the latest profit figures.

“TURN believes it is unacceptable for PG&E shareholders to pocket billions in profits at the expense of its customers who have seen bills skyrocket by 33% last year alone,” said Mark Toney, the group's executive director.

Critics of the way the company operates have directed much of their ire at the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC), whose five governor-appointed commissioners are charged with regulating utilities — including rate increases.

“PG&E's profits are being created on the backs of working families and small businesses in California that pay some of the nation's highest utility bills,” said Loretta Lynch, a former PUC commissioner who for numerous years has been an outspoken critic of both PG&E and the state regulator.

“The PUC is supposed to be a watchdog, but instead, the PUC is a lapdog,” Lynch said. “When PG&E asks for a rate increase, the PUC's response is how high should it be.”

The state Public Utilities Commission responded that it is doing its job to supervise PG&E's operations, including the utility's requests for additional revenue from its customers.

“The state PUC's job is to hold PG&E accountable, ensuring ratepayer dollars are used in the most