PG&E Says It’s Committed to Reducing our Energy Bills. Should we Believe them?

Source: San Luis Obispo Editorial Board  |  By McClatchy News Group

As detailed by the website Utility Dive, PG&E is proposing to enter into a lease agreement that would allow Citizens to use portions of up to five future transmission projects in exchange for up-front payments of up to $1 billion. That would allow PG&E to plan and develop the projects without having to borrow, translating into substantial savings for ratepayers. Citizens also would finance charitable programs in low-income communities within PG&E’s service area.

“PG&E is doing things to try to bring down bills,” said Mark Toney, executive director of The Utility Reform Network (TURN), ”but they aren’t working out right.” Not so fast, says TURN. It argues that PG&E is attempting to lease something it doesn’t have — the transmission projects have “yet to be identified or approved,” it says in a document submitted to the California Public Utilities Commission. It characterizes the $1 billion deal as more of a loan than a lease since PG&E customers would be on the hook if something were to go awry. In the long run, that could cost ratepayers more money, TURN says.