PG&E’s “Love” Letter and the Broken System Enabling It
PG&E exists to serve its shareholders, not its customers, prioritizing profits over safety and affordability. The CPUC, meant to regulate and protect the public, often enables PG&E by approving rate hikes and avoiding meaningful reforms—all while lawmakers look the other way.
PG&E CEO Patti Poppe’s says she’s “leading with love” in PG&E’s latest email where she attempts to gaslight customers into believing their twisted narrative. PG&E promises to “regain your trust,” and acknowledges major concerns—wildfire prevention, high bills, frequent outages—but skirts accountability for how we got here and why rates keep skyrocketing.
PG&E’s History of Failure
The latest wildfires occurring in Los Angeles and throughout Southern California are a devastating and tragic reminder of the massive danger California faces from wildfires. Although the cause of the wildfires in LA are still undetermined, we can’t forget the corporation that has been responsible for past wildfires: PG&E. PG&E caused some of the deadliest and most destructive wildfires in California’s history due to decades of negligence and deferred maintenance. They filed for bankruptcy in 2019 to avoid paying billions in damages to victims.
Now, PG&E is touting a 90% reduction in wildfire risk. But that improvement came at our expense, as PG&E simply passed the cost of fixing their mistakes onto customers through higher bills. PG&E claims undergrounding power lines costs the average customer just $1 a month. Meanwhile, tree trimming—a necessity because PG&E let vegetation management lapse for years—costs $20 a month. Audits have repeatedly shown PG&E’s failures to trim trees and clear vegetation around power lines, which is a leading cause of wildfires.
Snippet from CEO Patti Poppe’s Email.
CEO Patti Poppe, who took home over 17 million in compensation, doesn't even address the valid concerns mentioned in her email that “sometimes it seems like shareholders are the most important thing to PG&E.” Really? Because as a massive corporation traded on the public stock exchange, shareholders, by definition of our capitalist society, are the most important thing. Her email simply claimed that executive compensation and legal costs aren’t driving up our utility bills. But you know who isn’t paid $17 million dollars a year? The director of my local municipal utilities who’s a licensed Professional Electrical Engineer and a long-time civil-servant of the city.
CEO of Pacific Gas & Electric Patti Poppe. Source: https://www.pgecorp.com/about/officers/corporation-officers/patricia-poppe.html
Follow the Money
Utilities - like gas and electricity - which are required for living in the 21st century - should not be controlled and maintained by for-profit companies.
PG&E spent over $4 million on lobbying in 2024 alone. That money wasn’t spent advocating for lower bills or safer infrastructure—it was spent ensuring that PG&E maintains its singular hold on California residents’ wallets. To be clear, this money went into our lawmaker’s pockets. But that’s been ruled as legal campaign donations and lobbying in the United States.
Meanwhile, PG&E customers pay nearly three times more for electricity than residents in cities with municipal utilities. In Roseville, for example, municipal electric rates are 14–19 cents per kilowatt hour. PG&E customers? An average of 45 cents per kilowatt hour. That’s the cost of corporate profit baked into every bill. Sadly, even though California has taken steps to limit and control PG&E’s unfettered greed, we are falling short.
The Role of the CPUC
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) is supposed to regulate companies like PG&E and protect consumers. But the CPUC often appears to work in PG&E’s favor rather than ours. CPUC approved 6 rate hikes in 2024 alone. When PG&E requests rate increases, the CPUC evaluates whether the spending is justified. PG&E knows how to game this system by proposing projects that sound essential—wildfire prevention, grid modernization—but then manipulating how they allocate those funds. For example: PG&E might inflate budgets for essential services to justify rate hikes. Money that should go toward safety improvements could instead be diverted to other priorities, like shareholder profits.
The CPUC, despite its mandate to protect the public, often approves these requests with minimal pushback. Why? The commission’s members are appointed by the governor and have historically included individuals with ties to the energy industry or PG&E itself. This revolving door of influence makes it hard to believe the CPUC is truly independent. Legislation (AB 2054) was introduced last year that would prohibit past commissioners from the CPUC to wait ten years before associating with a utility company. Current law only requires one year. California Democrats and Republicans have both called for more oversight on the CPUC. Republican Assemblymember Jim Patterson (AD-8) is quoted as saying, “There is an undercurrent of real distrust by members in our committee, both democrats and republicans, that the PUC is simply a rubber stamp for utility requests.”
However, Jim Patterson, and his Republican colleague did not vote on moving AB 2054 forward. Jim Patterson would likely claim that the ten year ban was not long enough, as he was quoted as saying commissioners should have a lifetime ban. But why would Republicans not support preventing former CPUC commissioners from working for PG&E despite constant claims of “unelected bureaucrats” raising prices on consumers? Corporate lobbying, refusal to work with Democrats, and allowing their talking points to continue are all possible explanations.
Not Just Republicans
Here’s the concerning part. Democrats, who control the entire Assembly and every committee, quietly amended the bill over and over again. Specifically line-iteming out the ten year ban to three years, then down to one year - making the law basically useless. Of course, they quietly killed the bill in the suspense file - a dark and gloomy hole where bills go to die so our Democratic lawmakers can save face and never vote “no.”
A System Designed for Corporations, Not People
The real issue here is systemic. PG&E is a massive corporation accountable to shareholders, not the people it serves. Its business model prioritizes profit over safety and affordability. The CPUC should be the counterbalance to this, but it often fails to act in the public’s interest. Instead of holding PG&E accountable, the CPUC enables them by approving rate hikes and failing to demand meaningful reforms. And our lawmakers just let it happen.
What Needs to Change
Regulatory Reform: The CPUC must prioritize consumers, not corporations. This includes greater transparency in how rate hikes are justified, stricter oversight of how funds are spent, and of course, banning former commissioners from working at PG&E and other for-profit utilities.
Public Ownership: Municipal utilities like Roseville Electric and SMUD prove that public ownership works. They provide reliable power at a fraction of the cost because they don’t prioritize profits. Expanding municipal or regional utilities could break PG&E’s monopoly.
Corporate Accountability: PG&E’s leadership should face greater scrutiny for their decisions, and the company should be prevented from passing the cost of its mistakes onto customers.
And to CEO Patti Poppe: my gas bill is already high enough, I didn’t need your corporate gaslighting added to it. But at least I have your “leading with love” to keep me warm this winter.