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PG&E's absurdly high rates are how they finance the careers of Governor Newsom & his wife, and "donations" to a giant array of other pet project "charities" for

by gojomo 2y ago

PG&E's absurdly high rates are how they finance the careers of Governor Newsom & his wife, and "donations" to a giant array of other pet project "charities" for politicians & their favored cronies/causes. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/11/11/pge-helped-fund-careers-calif-governor-his-wife-now-he-accuses-utility-corporate-greed/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/11/11/pge-helpe... https://www.sacbee.com/article251851903.html https://www.sacbee.com/article251851903.html Why would any of California's uniparty establishment want to refund all that money to random utility customers – who might not even be reliable party footsoldiers? PG&E's lowest overnight rates are 30¢/kwh, surging during peak hours to rates ranging from 39¢/kwh to 72¢/kwh. In neighboring Nevada, the utility serving its major metros NV Energy has rates of 11¢/kwh for residential users & 7-9¢/kwh for small businesses.

Aurornis 2y ago
> But over the past two decades, Newsom (D) and his wife have accepted more than $700,000 from the Pacific Gas & Electric $700,000 over 20 years is $35,000 per year (not to mention Newsom wasn’t governor for most of that time) PG&E revenues are $25,000,000,000 per year. Regardless of what you think about the arrangement, it’s not why rates are high. > In neighboring Nevada, the utility serving its major metros NV Energy has rates of 11¢/kwh for residential users & 7-9¢/kwh for small businesses Comparing electricity costs across difference states rarely indicates much. Geographies, energy sources, and regulations are very different from state to state.
- culopatin 2y ago
  I don’t think they imply the payouts are so big they need to raise the rate, but that they have the support of the people in political power to maintain the monopoly and keep charging whatever they want.
- gojomo 2y ago
  Of course it's not the 1:1 expense passthrough of PG&E's multidecade sponsorship of just Newsom's family that alone causes higher rates. It's the tens of millions in political contributions to not just Newsom at every stage if his career but also his allies & ilk. Plus tens of millions more in donations to favored "charitable" projects of family & cronies of politicians like Newsom & his allies. Plus harder-to-tally overpriced jobs & contracts steered to the "right" (regime-aligned) consultants, firms, & unions. (Did you notice how the glowing character reference in the Wapo article, about how immune to influence Newsom is, comes from a former Newsom advisor – & member of his wife's nonprofit board – who currently has PG&E as a paying client of his PR firm?) All the cash & favors are then topped off with a showy cheerfulness to "accept the responsibility" of extra costs from those state-idiosyncratic "regulations" you mention. But of course that's the quid pro quo of their monopoly remaining unchallenged, & all costs more-than-passed-on to ratepayers – so the ruling machine including Newsom can keep getting their beaks wet in all PG&E's spending & donation fountains. To look at only the formal campaign contributions against revenues, & accept as excuse a cover-story for extra corrupt expenditures ("regulations are very different"), & then conclude "no problem" is exactly why milking ratepayers this way, spreading the loot widely, is such a enduringly great racket.

by gojomo 2y ago

Aurornis 2y ago

> But over the past two decades, Newsom (D) and his wife have accepted more than $700,000 from the Pacific Gas & Electric $700,000 over 20 years is $35,000 per year (not to mention Newsom wasn’t governor for most of that time) PG&E revenues are $25,000,000,000 per year. Regardless of what you think about the arrangement, it’s not why rates are high. > In neighboring Nevada, the utility serving its major metros NV Energy has rates of 11¢/kwh for residential users & 7-9¢/kwh for small businesses Comparing electricity costs across difference states rarely indicates much. Geographies, energy sources, and regulations are very different from state to state.

culopatin 2y ago
I don’t think they imply the payouts are so big they need to raise the rate, but that they have the support of the people in political power to maintain the monopoly and keep charging whatever they want.
gojomo 2y ago
Of course it's not the 1:1 expense passthrough of PG&E's multidecade sponsorship of just Newsom's family that alone causes higher rates. It's the tens of millions in political contributions to not just Newsom at every stage if his career but also his allies & ilk. Plus tens of millions more in donations to favored "charitable" projects of family & cronies of politicians like Newsom & his allies. Plus harder-to-tally overpriced jobs & contracts steered to the "right" (regime-aligned) consultants, firms, & unions. (Did you notice how the glowing character reference in the Wapo article, about how immune to influence Newsom is, comes from a former Newsom advisor – & member of his wife's nonprofit board – who currently has PG&E as a paying client of his PR firm?) All the cash & favors are then topped off with a showy cheerfulness to "accept the responsibility" of extra costs from those state-idiosyncratic "regulations" you mention. But of course that's the quid pro quo of their monopoly remaining unchallenged, & all costs more-than-passed-on to ratepayers – so the ruling machine including Newsom can keep getting their beaks wet in all PG&E's spending & donation fountains. To look at only the formal campaign contributions against revenues, & accept as excuse a cover-story for extra corrupt expenditures ("regulations are very different"), & then conclude "no problem" is exactly why milking ratepayers this way, spreading the loot widely, is such a enduringly great racket.