A bill aiming to make it easier for cities to break away from PG&E and form their own publicly-owned utility provider failed at the State Capitol Tuesday. From our partners at CapRadio, Laura Fitzgerald has more.
The bill sought to limit the California Public Utilities Commission’s power in overseeing the sales of electricity and gas infrastructure to cities who want to use it to create their own public provider.
Democratic Senator Scott Wiener of San Francisco authored the bill. He argued it would allow cities to pursue cheaper options for energy as PG&E customers experience rate hikes and blackouts.
Wiener also says PG&E’s lobbying efforts against the bill ultimately resonated with lawmakers on the Senate Energy Committee where the bill died.
"This is a long term battle with PG&E and it’s really tragic that PG&E has so much power, that it’s just able to stymie cities and communities from taking their energy future into their own hands."
In the committee process, PG&E argued the bill could lead to rate hikes for remaining PG&E customers and job losses for utility workers, claims Wiener rejects. The company didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about the bill.