Source: San Jose Mercury/Bay Area News Group | By George Avalos

Mark Toney, executive director of consumer group The Utility Reform Network, said the difference in financing costs could benefit customers. “We have to make sure PG&E doesn’t just spend the money on their pet projects but spends every dollar on projects that the PUC has determined will provide the greatest public benefit to the ratepayers,” Toney said. “The customers are the ones who are going to have to pay this back.”

PG&E said an expected record-setting $15 billion federal loan guarantee will help customers save money on an array of critical projects, but multiple advocacy groups warn that the investor-owned utility’s ratepayers may face higher bills.

Source: KGO, ABC 7 | By Suzanne Phan

Mark Toney is Executive Director with TURN, The Utility Reform Network. "This loan allows PG&E to make needed investments in wildfire safety in expanding the grid to serve more customers," said Toney. PG&E says the money could also be invested into lowering costs for its customers. Toney questions that. "We believe that reducing ratepayer bills is a high priority," said Toney. "PG&E has had four rate increases that went into effect in 2024 and there are two more rate increases on this Thursday's Public Utility Commission agenda.” TURN says the loan overall is a win for California.

PG&E could be getting a record $15 billion loan from the U.S. government. The money will be used to help modernize PG&E's power grid. The conditional low-interest loan is supposed to help pay for a number of costly energy projects. Supporters say the loan could end up saving PG&E bill payers a lot of money in the long run.

Source: ABC 30 | By Kate Nemarich

In the long run, TURN (The Utility Reform Network) says the interest rate the utility would receive from the federal government instead of a corporate structure will be lower. Before energy customers get too excited about the prospect of lower bills, TURN Executive Director Mark Toney warned costs could still hit your wallet. "It's a loan and guess who's going to pay it back. It is not going to be the shareholders. It's going to be you and me on our monthly bills," said Toney. "So, by itself, this is not going to reduce rates. It will reduce rates if the Commission says, you know what PG&E you have to use some of this money for rate relief, that would be an example.” Toney said if it is his organization will be pushing for proper oversight on how the money is spent. "There are two more rate increases for PG&E on the agenda," said Toney. "Now, if both of them get passed. that will be 6 rate increases in one year. Talk about record breaking. People are already paying $60 more on average each month then at the end of last year.” Toney said customers need to attend or call into the CPUC meeting at 11 am Thursday, December 19th to advocate against further rate hikes and to continue to reach out to their legislators and the governor's office.

The California Public Utilities Commission is set to vote on yet another rate hike for PG&E customers Thursday. If the four rate hikes from earlier this year are any indication of how they will vote, we'll see more. PG&E is on track to get a $15 billion loan from the US Government.

Source: Fox26 Fresno | By Liz Gonzales

“Absolutely the focus should be on the CPUC because they’re the decision makers,” says Mark Toney, Executive Director of The Utility Reform Network—or TURN. Toney has been working for more than a decade, advocating for changes on utility rates and changes at the CPUC. He’s calling for greater transparency from commissioners. He's asking they publicly discuss rate hikes as an Agenda Item in meetings, rather than the Consent Calendar—where items are batched together and decided with a simple yes or no vote, with no discussion.

PG&E customers have seen their rates rise four times in 2024. Each of those rate increases has been approved by the California Public Utilities Commission.

Source: Santa Rosa Press Democrat | By Marisa Endicott

PG&E will end a new program offering billing services for a company selling home protection plans that caused confusion and concern from customers. That applies to the partnership with HomeServe as well as the consolidated billing offering with any other company for the time being, she said. PG&E started notifying customers who signed up on Friday. In October, HomeServe said more than 5,000 PG&E customers had enrolled. Those continuing with a protection plan will now receive bills from HomeServe and will pay the company directly. Those seeking to cancel can call HomeServe at 1-833-572-2846.

Source: MSN| By Jaxon Van Derbeken

"PG&E s rates now are simply unaffordable," said Matt Freedman, with the Utility Reform Network (TURN). He noted that currently, one out of three low-income families is struggling to pay power bills. "If that amount of money were returned to customers now, it would result in an 8% rate decrease for customers that are served by PG&E," he said.

While electricity bills have skyrocketed this year, the market price for the power we’ve been using has been far less than PG&E estimated – creating the potential for some refunds. Each year, the utility predicts what the average price of power will be to establish the rate on your bill. While the actual price was considerably lower than PG&E had estimated this year, customers still pay the higher rate on their bills.

Source: Bay Area News Group (San Jose Mercury) | By George Avalos

“Gov. Newsom’s executive order is an important first step to solving the affordability crisis facing California families, small businesses, steel and glass makers, manufacturers, and agriculture producers,” said Mark Toney, executive director of The Utility Reform Network, or TURN, a consumer group. Both PG&E and TURN said they looked forward to cooperating with the governor’s office to help tackle the utility bill woes that confront millions of California electricity and gas customers.

While it’s unclear if the executive order will have any immediate effect, it does come at a time when PG&E bills have zoomed at a pace that’s eight times faster than the Bay Area inflation rate. In 2023, PG&E’s monthly bills for residential customers soared 22.3%. Over the same 12 months, the Bay Area inflation rate rose 2.6%

Source: Courthouse News Service | By Alan Riquelmy

Mark Toney, executive director of The Utility Reform Network, in a statement called the executive order an important first step in addressing the state’s affordability crisis that families, small businesses and others face. “TURN looks forward to working with the governor’s staff on affordability strategies not in the [executive order] that will save ratepayers billions in spending, including setting limits on utility overspending, requiring least cost solutions to wildfire safety, and public financing options to reduce the cost of wildfire safety capital investments,” Toney said. 

California regulatory agencies have taken the brunt of public outcry over high utility prices for months. The state’s Public Utilities Commission regularly hears angry, even threatening, comments related to electricity prices. Newsom’s executive order seeks to assuage those concerns. The governor also ordered the Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety, and asked the utilities commission, to examine wildfire safety practices, ensuring that investments are cost effective.

Source: San Diego Union Tribune | By Rob Nikolewski

The Utility Reform Network, the San Francisco consumer group commonly known as TURN that often weighs in on utility issues, called Newsom’s executive order “an important first step to solving the affordability crisis” facing California ratepayers.

Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order Wednesday aimed at finding ways to reduce rising electricity bills that beleaguered customers pay each month — although the order did not offer specific dollar figures and timetables. Newsom’s executive order calls for “smarter wildfire mitigation investments” by directing state regulators to evaluate utility oversight and ensure that spending is “focused on cost-effective” measures. The order also:

—calls on the California Public Utilities Commission to identify underperforming programs and return any unused money to utility customers through credits on their bills

—asks the utilities commission review the costs of regulations of various programs, pursue federal funding options to help lower electric bills and directs the California Energy Commission to look at cost-saving measures, and

—instructs the California Air Resources Board to find ways to increase the California Climate Credit that utility customers receive two times each year.

Source:The Press Democrat | By Marisa Endicott

“While this is clearly optional — there’s no question about that — I think a lot of people feel it’s tone deaf coming on top of record breaking bills,” said Mark Toney, executive director of The Utility Reform Network, a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization, who said his organization has also received inquiries about the partnership. “They say they’re working to reduce costs, but this is pushing an optional service, an insurance product, that some people will benefit from and most won’t because that’s how insurance is supposed to work.”

One of the seven pages in the mailer explains that HomeServe is not an affiliate of PG&E and that the utility “is not responsible for, and does not endorse or provide guarantees for, plans offered by HomeServe.” But the packet also contains a letter from a PG&E vice president, Chris Zenner. “We have some exciting news to share with you!” he writes. “As a valued PG&E customer, you have access to home protection plans from HomeServe.” He goes on to say that “HomeServe is a trusted provider of home protection programs” and that customers can now enjoy “the convenience of” having the company’s charges added to their PG&E bill. It also provides PG&E with revenue in the form of a fee paid by HomeServe for billing and payment processing services. Most of that fee “is used to lower rates, keeping the prices customers pay lower than they otherwise would be,” according to a PG&E webpage, although Paulo declined to provide a percentage.

Source: San Diego Union Tribune | By Rob Nikolewski

Mark Toney, executive director at The Utility Reform Network (TURN), a consumer advocacy group that testified during the proceeding, says SDG&E ratepayers are already getting socked financially. “The bottom line is that this is the worst time for San Diego and Southern California customers to be hit with major increases to both utilities.” TURN criticized the commission for issuing the proposed decision so late. “What that means is the increase is going to be magnified because they have to catch up,” Toney said. “The delay magnifies the rate shock.”

San Diego Gas & Electric customers would pay 2.7% more on their electric bills starting next year while customers with natural gas hookups may pay almost 9% more, according to a proposed decision released Friday afternoon by the California Public Utilities Commission. According to the proposed decision, typical SDG&E residential customers using 400 kilowatt-hours of electricity per month would pay $170.87, which represents a $4.46, or 2.7%, increase compared to what they currently pay. The percentage increase would be the same for customers enrolled in the California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE) financial assistance program.

Source: Politico| By Alex Nieves

But the change was supported by consumer advocates including the California Public Advocates Office, and Mark Toney, TURN’s executive director, was willing to give credit where he said it’s due. “This is an important first step in providing rate relief, but so much more needs to be done,” he said.

The details are quite gory, but basically, the commission made a change to one of the ways it adjusts the return it allows utilities to book when they invest in big transmission lines and smaller-scale power poles, wires and substations. The utilities need to make a lot more of those investments to deliver enough power around the state to support California’s transition from a fossil-fuel based economy to one that runs on electricity. The change is expected to save ratepayers a total of about $360 million next year, according to an estimate from The Utility Reform Network.

Source: Sacramento Bee | By Ari Plachta

“The issue has been that there’s no fiscal discipline when it comes to wildfire mitigation spending,” said Katy Morsony, former staff attorney at the Utility Reform Network. “If we can do things in a more cost effective way, meaning take less ratepayer dollars and have lower bills, that’s a worthwhile goal.”

Undergrounding efforts are a piece of the steady rise in electricity bills, one that’s expected to grow in upcoming years. As millions face mounting bills, Gov. Gavin Newsom has emphasized that he and state lawmakers are committed to bringing rates down. Utilities like PG&E have resisted proposals that could end up lowering their profits, experts say. Even when it’s not the most cost-effective option, they argue, utilities often favor undergrounding over other strategies because it boosts their returns.

Source: San Francisco Chronicle | By Julie Johnson

“One of the biggest questions of all for California is this: Is this a money loser or not?” said Matthew Freedman, a staff attorney with The Utility Reform Network, an advocacy group for ratepayers.

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. will charge the average residential customer about $41 in 2025 to keep California’s only nuclear power plant running longer than planned. In filings with state regulators Friday, PG&E detailed the costs of operating Diablo Canyon Power Plant near San Luis Obispo in 2025 — costs that include impacts on customers of other California utilities, who will start paying for the power plant’s operations for the first time in its nearly 40-year life.

Source: Columbia Spectator | By Miranda Lu

The event concluded with a panel discussion between consumer advocate and director of the Office of Consumer Services Richard Berkley and executive director of the Utility Reform Network Mark Toney. The panel was moderated by Hernández and Law School professor and Sabin Center director Michael Gerrard, CC ’72, the lead organizers of Power Uptown. Toney, whose organization is based in California, discussed his state’s efforts to improve energy affordability and suggested looking at the federal income tax system—where the amount taxpayers pay is dependent on their income—as a more equitable payment model for utility payments.

Community leaders, policymakers, energy industry professionals, and local residents convened at The Forum last Friday for “Power Uptown: Tackling Energy Insecurity Together,” a community-based event focused on addressing energy insecurity and educating residents on pathways to efficient and renewable energy consumption.

Source: CBS47 and KSEE24 Fresno | By Ben Morris

“There are no limits to how much the public utilities can grant in an increase,” said Mark Toney, executive director for The Utility Reform Network. “Utility debt has quintupled over the past four years. It’s five times more than it used to be,” he said.

“There are a lot of things on your bill that I don’t think should be on your bill,” said Governor Newsom. “There are a lot of programs in this state that frankly stack up. And then, everybody pays for what only a few people are taking advantage of,” he said. However, in addition to dollars going to programs and policies, rate increases continue to hit families hard. In September, the California Public Utilities Commission unanimously passed its fourth PG&E rate hike of the year.

Source: FOX2 KTVU | By Tom Vacar

Consumer advocate Mark Toney of The Utility Reform Network (TURN) blasted the initiative saying, "PG&E executives will stop at nothing to empty the pockets of their customers.”

Customers have received letters from a company called HomeServe, which offers a monthly service for $6 that will cover water meter failures. For another $6 per month, the service would pay for certain electrical equipment not covered by PG&E. The third page of the form, which appears on PG&E letterhead and signed by a vice president, calls HomeServe a trusted provider that has been thoroughly vetted. HomeServe's charges would appear directly on the customers' PG&E bills.

Source: CBS 13 Sacramento | By Ashley Sharp

CBS13 reached out to The Utility Reform Network (TURN), which serves as a consumer watchdog advocacy group concerning all utility companies in the state of California, for perspective. TURN Director Mark Toney said he's shocked by this mistake, calling it rare and inexcusable. "These meters are supposed to be geocoded so that the exact location is precisely matched with longitude, latitude, that's geocoding. So its precise location is supposed to match each address," Toney said. Toney said that PG&E should work through Wilson's old bills and refund him for any amount he has paid over the actual price of his bill for every year impacted. CBS13 asked Toney: What lessons should customers of any utility group take away from this story? "Keep an eye on your bill," he said. "If you notice a spike in usage, and maybe you're out of town or at work all day and these spikes are happening in the middle of the day or at an odd time, that is the time to call PG&E and ask them to look into it.” Toney suggested that if the issue is not made right, the problem needs to be reported to the California Public Utilities Commission.

A Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) customer who lives at an apartment complex in Vacaville recently noticed something was not quite right with his utility bill. After further investigation that included PG&E coming out to check his meter, they discovered he had been paying someone else's bill for what could be nearly two decades. Customer Ken Wilson's bill was linked to the meter for apartment unit 90. He lives in unit number 91. Wilson has lived alone in the same apartment since 2006: 18 years.

Source: ABC7 News | By Muna Sadek

"So much of the increase today is based on overspending," Executive Director Mark Toney said. "I would say thatfor any overspending that shareholders should pay 50 percent of all cost overruns." TURN sponsored a recent bill in the State Legislature that would have required just that but Toney said PG&E ultimately killed it. "Every bill that PG&E didn’t like because it would reduce shareholder returns, it would set limits on how much ratepayers had to pay, PG&E was able to kill," Toney said.

PG&E ratepayers will see their bills go up a little over $5 a month soon, after the California Public Utilities Commission approved the increase Thursday morning. The utility says it needs the funds to recoup losses following recent storms and wildfire mitigation projects, however a number of ratepayers made public comments ahead of the vote to voice concerns about what would be the company's fourth rate hike of the year.

Source: Politico| By Blanca Begert, Tyler Katzenberger, Alex Nieves, Will McCarthy and Wes Wenteicher

“We need to fix a broken system where there are no limits to how much PG&E can request in rate increases, and no limits to how much the CPUC can grant in rate increases,” Mark Toney, executive director of The Utility Reform Network, said in a statement.

Utility and energy professionals in California and beyond are acknowledging a paradox. On the one hand, they’re looking eagerly at how advances in machine learning and artificial intelligence can help them manage the grid, predict fires and outages and respond more flexibly as energy demand grows.