Source: San Francisco Chronicle | By Julie Johnson

Mark Toney, executive director of ratepayer advocate nonprofit The Utility Reform Network, said that “a whole lot more is at stake” with rising utility bills than just household budgets. “We need to understand the consequences of these rate increases on climate change,” he said.

A new electric car costs about $2,039 more on average than a conventional gas-powered car as of January, according to a Cox Automotive study. But e-vehicles have lower costs to maintain, repair and fuel up. Rising electricity prices run the risk of scaring potential new owners concerned about their bills, said Severin Borenstein, an economist and professor at UC Berkeley’s Energy Institute at Haas. “We’re discouraging people from doing something we really need them to do,” Borenstein said.

Source: CBS News | By Kayla Moeller

"We're talking about a $5 a month increase on top of the $38 increase that went into effect on January 1. The customers of PG&E deserve an explanation," said Mark Toney, executive director of the Utility Reform Network. "Since the public utilities commission is unwilling to set these limits, we need the legislature to step in and set these limits," Toney said

Get ready to pay more for your Pacific Gas and Electric service. State regulators have approved yet another rate hike for the utility company. The change will add about an average of $5 a month to customers' bills. That's on top of historic hikes that went into effect just two months ago. The back-to-back rate hikes even have people looking to buy a home outside PG&E's coverage territory.

Source: Fox 40 Sacramento | By Veronica Catlin & Mason Mauro

“The commission is falling for PG&E’s continued claims of crying poor -of saying they’re in a financial squeeze,” said Mark Toney, a member of the Utilities Reform Network. He added that PG&E customers need to prepare themselves because this won’t be the last increase in rates. “The commission is falling for PG&E’s continued claims of crying poor -of saying they’re in a financial squeeze,” said Mark Toney, a member of the Utilities Reform Network. He added that PG&E customers need to prepare themselves because this won’t be the last increase in rates.

The California Public Utilities Commission approved another hike in Pacific Gas & Electric rates that will go into effect in April 2024. The decision was made at Thursday’s California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) meeting despite several customers who vehemently spoke out against it. The added expense follows a 13% rate increase (almost $35 a month) that happened on Jan. 1, 2024.

Source: ABC 7 News | By Lena Howland

"I think that is disrespectful to customers, and that the commissioners owe it to the customers to explain their vote for yet another increase," Mark Toney, executive director of TURN said. Toney, executive director of TURN, The Utility Reform Network, points out that this increase is on top of the hike that already went into effect on Jan. 1, which averaged around $38 a month per customer. This is despite the utility reporting last year's profits surged to more than $2.2 billion, a jump of almost 25%. “It doesn't make any sense for PG&E to keep crying poor when the fact is, they are more profitable than they've ever been in their history, it is not right," he said.

On Thursday, the CPUC voted again to allow PG&E to raise rates in a 4-0 vote, expected to take effect in April. This comes after a rate increase just went into effect on Jan. 1.

Source: Silicon Valley | By George Avalos

“The PUC rubber-stamped PG&E’s interim rate request,” said Mark Toney, executive director of The Utility Reform Network, or TURN. Toney, with TURN, was disappointed the state PUC approved the interim increase in rates, leading to yet another jump in monthly costs, through a mass endorsement by the commissioners of the consent agenda. “Ratepayers deserve an explanation from the five commissioners,” Toney said, “about why they approved this.”

PG&E has won approval for a plan that will shove monthly utility bills higher — yet again — starting in April, a decision a consumer advocacy group is blasting as a “rubber stamp” by state regulators. The state Public Utilities Commission (PUC) approved PG&E’s plans for higher monthly bills — known officially as an interim rate request — as part of a consent calendar packed with 54 items.

Source: The San Francisco Standard | By Kevin Truong

“We're opposing this. It’s outrageous, especially with a $2.24 billion profit,” said Mark Toney, the executive director of The Utility Reform Network, which filed an official objection to the rate hike.

After nearly two hours of vociferous—at times enraged—opposition to planned PG&E rate hikes during a meeting of the California Public Utilities Commission on Thursday, commissioners took five minutes to issue their decision. The regulators would allow PG&E to raise rates. Again.

Source: KTVU Fox 2 | By Tori Gaines

The Utility Reform Network said, “The current system that sets no limits on rate increases, needs to be replaced by a cap on annual bills, set at the Cost of Living Adjustment provided by Social Security.”

The California Public Utilities Commission is expected to vote on Thursday on a new proposal that would add another fixed charge to electric bills. Pacific Gas and Electric said customers would see a $4 to $6 increase in their bills and that's in addition to rate hikes put into place this year.

Source: San Francisco Chronicle | By Julie Johnson

Mark Toney, executive director of ratepayer advocate nonprofit The Utility Reform Network, criticized commissioners for voting on the rate hike without discussion. “The commission owes an explanation to customers whenever they adopt a rate increase but now more than ever,” he said.

The $4.68 per month estimated increase for average households will last for a period of 12 months starting in April. But bills could climb even higher this year if the commission takes up another proposal from PG&E that would add $14 to $15 per month for average residential customers to recoup costs incurred during last year’s winter storms. Combining that with the January hike and Thursday’s decision, typical residential bills could become at least $53 higher per month than prices last year.

Source: NBC Bay Area | By Jaxon Van Derbeken

"It's small, but there is a whole line up of small increases on the table," said Mark Toney, executive director of the TURN ratepayer group.

The Public Utilities Commission approved a PG&E rate hike Thursday that will add about $5 a month to the average bill and it could begin as soon as next month. Before the approval, the panel heard from a string of ratepayers and critics – some chanting “Stop the Rate Hikes!” – complaining about the hike. The commission approved the hike unanimously without comment. A new board member, who until recently headed the consumer watchdog arm of the CPUC, recused himself from voting.

Source: NBC Bay Area | By Jaxon Van Derbeken

“We’re talking about a company who, in 2023, $2.5 billion to shareholders? PG&E has the money,” said Mark Toney, executive director with the ratepayer advocacy group TURN. “You have no reason to cry poor when we have given you rate increase after rate increase after rate increase.” “These new investors are going to want a return on their investment,” adds Toney of TURN, “and they're going to want a return that's much higher than the regulated rate of return.” But Toney is skeptical of the company's claim - saying partial private ownership could make the utility vulnerable to market pressure and other unknowns. In the end, he says he believes, utility customers could end up paying for more bailout costs instead of utility shareholders. “PG&E is leading with love, the love of money,” Toney said. “The situation right now is that ratepayers feel all the pain and the shareholders are reaping all the gain.”

Despite profits of more than $2 billion last year, PG&E recently told regulators that it is in such a financial bind that it needs more time to make a $1 billion payment. Ratepayer advocates were quick to dismiss the idea that PG&E is facing an actual financial pinch. Those advocates believe the utility's customers are the ones in a real financial bind - thanks to a recent string of rate hikes.

Source: The Press Democrat | By Marisa Endicott

“I have seen and heard more outrage from everyday customers than I ever have,” said Mark Toney, executive director of The Utility Reform Network (TURN), a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization. “Every elected official I run into is telling me that they are just buried with calls from constituents.” Still, that doesn’t mean an immediate stop to rate hikes. Toney, of the utility reform group, noted that there are a number of rate increase requests under consideration by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). In fact, on Thursday, March 7, regulators will decide whether to approve the collection of hundreds of millions of dollars from PG&E customers. That increase would allow PG&E to start charging for a portion of a larger proposal filed Dec. 1 by the utility that is still pending approval. If allowed, that could kick in as early as April or May. “It's a smaller increase between four to six dollars a month,” said Toney said. “But, at this point, every increase is just piled on top of what people are already seeing, and we're not done for the year by any stretch in terms of increases, I can guarantee you.”

By the end of last year, PG&E customers owed more than $650 million in unpaid energy bills, according to data compiled by The Utility Reform Network. Customers of California’s other investor-owned utilities are similarly behind by hundreds of millions resulting in a statewide 500% increase in back-owed utility bills since 2019. Nearly 182,000 households served by PG&E who fell behind had their electricity cut off for nonpayment in 2023, almost a quarter of which were never reconnected. Utility advocates and legislators say outreach from frustrated or desperate customers has reached a fever pitch. There’s concern, too, about how high electricity costs will affect the feasibility and buy-in for the state’s massive electrification push.

Source: KGTV ABC 10 San Diego | By Jeff Lasky

“That’s what makes people upset," said Mark Toney, executive director of the watchdog group TURN (The Utility Reform Network). "Right now, it feels like customers are bearing all the pain. And SDGE investors and executives get all the gain.” TURN calls for CPUC to investigate the wildfire projects to ensure SDGE did not pad the projects to increase profit and “to make sure that the right measures were taken in the right locations with the right results and at the most cost-effective manner for the ratepayers.”

Power bills in San Diego are going up. Effective Mar. 1, San Diego Gas & Electric is implementing a new rate increase. The company expects the increase to work out to a little more than $8 per month for the average customer. SDGE points out that even with the rate increase, customers are still paying less now than they did at this time in 2023, due to an 11% rate cut that took effect in January. However, critics say SDGE should not be raising rates at all, considering its announcement this week that it broke its all-time record for earnings for a second consecutive year, leading to record performance for stockholders.

Source: The San Francisco Standard | By Alex Mullaney

Mark Toney, head of The Utility Reform Network, estimates energy bills will go up beyond what PG&E estimates to at least $60 a month since the company has other rate increase requests in with the commission. “It feels like the customers are experiencing all the pain for the shareholders to reap all the gain,” Toney said. “This is organized corporate crime for them to be charging so much and extracting so much from people for their investors.” TURN is looking for a California lawmaker to sponsor a package of legislation that will offer ratepayers relief, require more corporate accountability and generally better protect customers.

Shocked and dismayed Pacific Gas & Electric Company customers are taking to Reddit and Nextdoor to find economic relief—and plain old vent—over their soaring energy bills since a $33-per-month rate hike took effect on Jan. 1. San Francisco need not look further than Sacramento to see the savings that come from public power. Residents in the capital pay $135 for 750kwh of electricity versus the $345 that PG&E customers pay.

Source: Mother Jones | By Mario Alejandro Ariza and Kristi E. Swartz

“I’m actually flummoxed by why the [utility] CEOs and executives would revert to corruption,” said Mark Toney of the nonprofit Utility Reform Network, “when the record is, you can make so much more if you’re focused on just running the scam that it is.”

Utility fraud and corruption—in Florida, Illinois, Mississippi, Ohio, and South Carolina—have cost electricity customers at least $6.6 billion, according to Floodlight’s analysis. Like waiters with a guaranteed tip, many power companies operate as state-sanctioned monopolies that collect government-guaranteed returns on their investments. The companies increase returns by building new power plants and transmission lines, and by jealously defending their turf—even if it hurts consumers and the environment.

Source: KRCR ABC 7 | By Muna Sadek

Ratepayer advocates with The Utility Reform Network (TURN) says companies should insulate overhead power lines, noting is it is a far cheaper option and would not result in higher energy bills for customers."We have to fix the broken system where the sky's the limit. There are no limits to how much PG&E can ask for or how many times a year," said TURN Executive Director Mark Toney. Toney says undergrounding one mile of power line costs about $4 million while insulating wire costs $800,000. "If you have a cheaper alternative to increase safety, it only makes sense to do that and give customers the best bang for the buck, the most return for their hard-earned dollar," Toney said.

In Sacramento, lawmakers are pushing a bill that they say would help save ratepayers money on their energy bills. Under Senate Bill 1003, utility companies, like Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E), could be required to consider cheaper, more cost-effective options when it comes to their infrastructure. It would direct the California Office of Electrical Infrastructure Safety to consider the timeliness of infrastructure upgrades in utility wildfire mitigation plans.

Source: KQED | By Danielle Venton

“The bill was ‘right on target in terms of telling the utilities and telling the Public Utilities Commission that we need to find the least cost solutions…”

California has enjoyed a few relatively quiet wildfire seasons, but lawmakers are still focused on lowering the state’s risk and have introduced a number of fire-focused bills in the last few weeks…

Source: Chico Enterprise-Record | By Editorial Board

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

Shameful. Reprehensible. Despicable. Honestly, we wish there were a stronger word to describe PG&E’s ripoff of its largely captive customer base, but we’re stuck to come up with one. The company announced Thursday it earned $2.24 billion in profits last year, an incredibly unjustifiable increase of 24.6% from 2022. Even more alarming, the report also predicted the company’s investors could anticipate even better earnings in 2024; after all, we’re not done with these rate increases. Not by a long shot. As long as there are a few extra pennies in the pocket of any customer, PG&E seems determined to find them.

Source: KRON 4 | By Dan Kerman

Mark Toney with the Utility Reform Network believes it’s time the California Public Utilities Commission stops rubber-stamping these rate hikes and does what he says is right for consumers. “The fact that PG&E is booking record profits for shareholders while ratepaying customers have record high bills is completely outrageous and unacceptable,” he said. “Turn has been calling for a cap to annual rate no higher than the cost of living adjustment that’s provided each year by social security.”

Some PG&E customers are frustrated after hearing the utility increased its profit by almost 25 percent last year, while consumers have seen their rates go up. PG&E just reported a profit for 2023 of $2.24 billion. That comes following a series of rate hikes that have made customer bills go through the roof.

Source: CBS News | By Kristine Lazar

Mark Toney with The Utility Reform Network or TURN, a consumer advocacy group, says its problematic that utilities get to decide if they are liable for damage. "The challenge is, they get to decide whether they're at fault or whether you're at fault, or whether a third party or the weather, or things out of their control," Toney said. "So what that means is, they decide whether they're at fault. I will tell you most of the time they do not find themselves at fault, not surprisingly." Toney explained small claims court is an option, with the limit for individuals at $12,500 and for businesses, it's half of that at $6,250. "It's almost not worth the effort," Toney said.

Some Long Beach small businesses are blaming SoCal Edison after a power outage and subsequent surge fried their pricey equipment, begging the question of who is responsible for it all. A dental office and veterinary clinic both lost equipment worth tens of thousands of dollars following an October 2023 power surge.

Source: Fox 2 KTVU | By Allie Rasmus

"Shareholders are pocketing money based on record rate increases," said Mark Toney, executive director of the non-profit TURN, the Utility Reform Network. Toney said PG&E is planning to ask state regulators to approve more rate hikes in the future. "PG&E has currently sitting on the desk of the California Public Utilities Commission, no less than 12 separate proposals for increases – twelve," he said. "I do think that if enough people call in to their state representatives, the governor's office, and the CPUC they will feel the pressure," said Toney. "This is the time to increase the pressure, especially now that everyone knows PG&E is turning record profits."

PG&E reports it made a $2.24 billion dollar profit last year — a 24% increase from the year before. In a call with investors, PG&E credits last year's rate increases with boosting its bottom line and said it expects to remain profitable through 2028.