Source: SF Chronicle | By Emma Stiefel

Mark Toney, Executive Director of The Utility Reform Network, believes it’s unfair that Poppe made $17 million while PG&E customers suffer from historic rate increases. Poppe received about $3 for each of the 5.5 million PG&E electricity customer accounts, though her pay does not come directly from customer rates. Her total compensation was over three times the $5.4 million PG&E's highest-paid executive vice president received in 2023. “Customers have a right to be upset that the PG&E board and investors are willing to pay so much to the CEO and other executives in the face of record-breaking bills,” Toney told the Chronicle. “​​Anyone who’s paying a PG&E bill is unhappy about this.”

PG&E CEO Patricia Poppe took home $17 million in the 2023 fiscal year, including her $1.4 million salary and $11.8 million in stock awards. That was up by nearly $3 million from 2022, when she made $14.1 million in compensation. While critics believe this hearty pay package is uncalled for amid soaring energy bills, PG&E has argued that they are paying market rate for top talent.

Source: Associated Press | By Adam Beam

“Only at PG&E would (Poppe’s) attempts at brand rehabilitation be considered a ‘safety message,’” said Mark Toney, executive director of the Utility Reform Network. “This blatant misuse of ratepayer funds is exactly why we need SB 938 and its clear rules and required disclosures for advertising costs.”

California lawmakers on Monday rejected a proposal aimed at cracking down on how some of the nation’s largest utilities spend customers’ money. California’s investor-owned utilities can’t use money from customers to pay for things like advertising their brand or lobbying for legislation. Instead, they’re supposed to use money from private investors to pay for those things.

Source: The Mercury News | By George Avalos

Mark Toney, executive director of The Utility Reform Network, a consumer group, was skeptical that PG&E will rein in the pace of monthly bill increases. “I’ll believe it when I see it,” Toney said in an interview about Poppe’s comments. “The prices are so doggone high now they would need to come down significantly to make a difference and make them affordable.” “I find it very hard to believe PG&E, given that the company has a dozen rate increases currently in front of the PUC,” Toney said. “There are a host of proposals that will all impact customers.”

“We see a future where customers’ bills can start to come down,” Poppe said in response to questions from this news organization about fast-rising ratepayer costs, after an event PG&E hosted in Richmond. The surprising comment struck some reform advocates as too good to be true.

Source: The OC Register | By Teri Sforza

The largest group getting intervenor comp, by far, is TURN. It requested $26.4 million between 2020 and early 2024, and was awarded $24.8 million. Over that time, it has saved Californians hundreds of millions of dollars, its accounting shows. In a typical year, its legal staff of 12 attorneys and five policy analysts work on about 100 proceedings at the PUC. For example, TURN recently: Helped win a ruling preventing SDG&E from recovering $514 million from customers that it spent on wildfire mitigation before a reasonableness review by the PUC. Helped win a ruling preventing Edison from recovering $85 million from customers that it spent on tree trimming in non–high fire risk areas. Helped win $400 million in savings for PG&E, SCE, SoCal Gas and SDG&E ratepayers by getting PUC to reduce “Cost of Capital” profit rates (more on that in a minute)…

Electric rates, gas rates, water rates — they go up. And up. And up. Policing these regularly scheduled consumer agonies — or rubber-stamping them, as critics often charge — is the job of the California Public Utilities Commission. This powerful regulator is charged with ensuring that rate hikes and policy decisions are fair and justified

Source: Hawai’i Public Radio | By Savannah Harriman-Pote

Still, securitization may not be a bad deal for ratepayers, said Mark Toney, the executive director of The Utility Reform Network, a California-based consumer advocacy group. "Just think about the difference between the people who got their home loans at 3% or less and people today who are having to pay 7% or more. The same house, your payments are double what they are. So it's kinda like that, it's the same principle," Toney told HPR. But Toney added that ratepayers should never be on the hook for utility negligence. If that’s the case, he said “there has to be a guarantee that shareholders reimburse the ratepayers in real time.” The Utility Reform Network has been involved in one of the largest securitization cases in the country with Northern California electric utility PG&E, which took out $7.5 billion in ratepayer bonds to pay costs related to the 2017 California wildfires. However, he said, California law does not allow a utility to make ratepayers pay for wildfires started due to the company's negligence. "If you look on a PG&E bill and you open it up when it comes in the mail, you will see a line item that talks about repaying the bond as a bill, but there will be a bill credit for the exact same amount, which represents the shareholders reimbursing the ratepayers in real time."

The brushfire that destroyed Lahaina last year was one of 28 weather and climate disasters in 2023 that cost a billion dollars or more in damages. Electric utilities face increasing expenses related to extreme weather events like hurricanes, ice storms and wildfires. Several utilities, including Hawaiian Electric, have eyed ratepayer-backed bonds as a possible avenue to recoup some of those costs.

Source: CalMatters | By Julie Lynem

Legislative maneuvering aside, affordable energy and climate advocates like Mark Toney, executive director of The Utility Reform Network, believe that placing a cap on utility rate hikes is just one part of the solution. Regulators should also require utilities to exercise fiscal discipline on spending, he said. Utilities, Toney explained, should not be given a “credit card with no limit and a guarantee that someone else is going to pay.” TURN is backing the Utility Accountability Act, a sensible bill that would prohibit utilities from using funds collected from ratepayers to pay for advertisements, political activities or membership dues of trade associations engaged in lobbying. It would also require utilities to document and disclose their spending. By increasing the cost for using electricity, “that’s not rewarding people for good behavior,” Toney said.

Unaffordable housing, high transportation and health care costs – it’s hard enough to get by in California without also worrying about cranking up the air, turning on the stove or simply keeping the lights on. But that’s what concerns many Pacific Gas & Electric Co. customers who cannot afford to pay their soaring utility bills. As of February, more than 1 million of them were behind on payments.

Source: The Mercury News | By George Avalos

“Customers, shocked by record-breaking bills, have a right to be upset that PG&E shareholders are showering their CEO with $17 million a year,” said Mark Toney, executive director with The Utility Reform Network, or TURN. “If they have enough to provide their executives with millions of dollars in raises because of record-breaking profits,” Toney said, “then they can provide rate relief to millions of captive customers who can no longer afford to pay their monthly utility bills.”

PG&E handed out higher executive compensation to the utility giant’s top boss and other key executives in 2023 — pay increases that came at a time of soaring monthly customer bills and rising profits.

Source: Los Angeles Daily News | By Brooke Staggs

Ever-increasing rates are why Mark Toney, executive director of The Utility Reform Network, or TURN, said most people likely haven’t even noticed the climate credits they’ve received on their gas and electric bills over the past decade. The utility reform group TURN is backing a bill from Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, D-Torrance, that would use revenue from cap-and-trade to create a Climate Equity Trust Fund. The idea, Toney said, is to have utilities use money from that fund to help, say, build out electric charging stations for trucks in Ontario rather than having Edison pass those costs along to all ratepayers on their monthly bills. Something’s gotta give when it comes to utility prices. So Toney said building on the successes of the cap-and-trade program just makes sense.

In April, Southern California Edison customers will see an $86 credit automatically appear on their monthly bill, while Southern California Gas customers will get a credit of $73. Then, in October, Edison customers will see their bills drop by another $86. Similar rebates are being doled out this year to customers of investor-owned utilities throughout California, with more than $1.6 billion due back to electric customers, $1 billion to natural gas customers and $160 million to small businesses.

Source: ABC 7 News | By Tim Johns

The Utility Reform Network, or TURN, says it's a move that would likely reduce the rates customers pay for power by anywhere from 5 to 7 cents per kilowatt hour. "It's going to make utility bills more affordable for low-income households and reduce the volatility of month-to-month bills. And it will promote electrification," said TURN's Matthew Freedman. A welcome response for people like Freedman, who says regulators have a lot more work to do to make bills more affordable. "PG&E is spending too much money. Collecting too much in profits and not being held accountable for its mismanagement of the system," he said.

At the historic Orinda Theatre, the past few weeks have been anything but business as usual. Owner Derek Zemrak says he made the decision to close the theater on Mondays and Tuesday after receiving a PG&E bill for nearly $6,300, almost double what he normally pays. "I was shocked. I knew PG&E had raised rates for commercial properties. I just didn't realize it was going to be that high," Zemrak said. The skyrocketing bills aren't just hitting Zemrak. To tackle the issue, the California Public Utilities Commission is proposing a new $24 fixed charge on monthly electric bills.

Source: CBS News | By Kayla Moeller

The Utility Reform Network, a consumer advocacy group, says the proposal is a step in the right direction. "First of all, the rate people pay for usage would be reduced," said Matthew Freedman of the Utility Reform Network. If passed, customers would see a separate line on their bill for $24.15. However, that doesn't mean your bill would go up. That's because the flat rate would restructure your bill. The CPUC says customers' usage rates would be reduced by 5 cents per kilowatt hour. "For example, a PG&E customer that lives in the Sacramento area, the average customer would see about $1.50 a month net savings on their bills," Freedman said.

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has a new proposal to lower the cost of your utility bill, but it's causing controversy as opponents are worried it could do the opposite. What's being proposed is a restructuring of how customers pay utility bills.

Source: San Francisco Chronicle | By Julie Johnson

Matthew Freedman, a staff attorney with ratepayer advocate nonprofit The Utility Reform Network, said his organization supports the commission’s plan but said the state needs to do more to make energy more affordable. “Much more needs to be done to address California’s skyrocketing electricity rates,” Freedman said.

Millions of Californians could see a new $24 fixed charge on their monthly utility bills in coming years if state regulators approve a plan that would reduce how much customers pay per kilowatt hour of electricity. The California Public Utilities Commission estimates the new flat fee would allow companies like Pacific Gas and Electric to reduce electricity prices by about 5 to 7 cents per kilowatt hour, easing the expense for customers already paying some of the highest electricity prices in the country.

Source: The Northern California Record | By Northern California Record

The Utility Reform Network (TURN) has raised concerns about the financial burden on California's ratepayers, who are grappling with "record-breaking bills" that are allegedly pushing families into poverty and homelessness. The organization points out that Californians are dealing with escalating costs for basic necessities such as housing, food, utilities, and insurance. In a press release, TURN revealed that the California Public Utilities Commission is planning to collect $516 million prematurely from PG&E ratepayers to safeguard PG&E’s credit rating. The consumer advocacy group highlighted that PG&E has several pending requests for rate hikes in addition to the average monthly increase of $35 that came into effect on January 1. TURN emphasized the urgency of the situation by stating that Californians are confronted with "skyrocketing bills" and require immediate relief. TURN is an independent consumer advocacy organization operating statewide, as per its website. For half a century, TURN has been committed to helping California residents and small businesses save money. The organization offers information on energy and telephone issues to consumers.

Over the past year, residents of California have been hit by significant price hikes for various necessities. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) Consumer Price Index indicates that residents in the Western Region - which encompasses all of California - are paying 2.3% more for food, 4.8% more for rent, and 11.5% more for electricity since February 2023.

Source: Utility Dive | By Herman K. Trabish

But without “some kind of rate restructuring,” the growing non-electricity costs imposed on the volumetric rate could lead to “profound unfairness between the haves and the have-nots,” said Matthew Freedman, staff attorney with The Utility Reform Network, or TURN. Many stakeholders, including UC Berkeley’s Borenstein and TURN’s Freedman, expect regulators to propose a simplified IGFC. With a very high fixed charge, upper income customers “may buy solar and batteries and other technologies and defect” from utility service, TURN’s Freedman agreed. Reducing utilities’ return on equity and using new sources of and approaches to financing to reduce the capital needed for infrastructure projects will also reduce costs, TURN’s Freedman added.

Some California lawmakers have proposed repealing a measure the legislature approved in 2022 that would protect low-income customers and beneficial electrification from electricity rates that are now the nation’s third highest. The income graduated fixed charge, or IGFC, was proposed in a 2021 University of California white paper as a way to partially shift the funding source for some of the state’s public policies from its fast rising per kWh, or volumetric, power prices to income-based fixed charges.

Source: The Mercury News | By George Avalos

“If PG&E cared about customer rankings, it would spend less money on public relations and slick television commercials, and more on live persons to answer the phone when customers call,” Mark Toney, executive director with The Utility Reform Network, or TURN, said in comments emailed to this news organization. “If PG&E wanted a better reputation, it would stop overspending on excessive tree removal, and more on connecting new electrical service to affordable housing developments, schools and hospitals that have been on a waiting list for months.” “If PG&E wanted to boost customer confidence, it would prioritize delivering the cleanest, safest and most reliable service at the most cost-efficient manner, instead of prioritizing shareholder profits,” Toney said.

PG&E languishes in the bottom third of a list of dozens of big utilities nationwide in terms of customer satisfaction, although the embattled power company’s rank is improving, a new survey shows.

Source: The Fresno Bee | By Bryant-Jon Anteola

“The commission owes an explanation to customers whenever they adopt a rate increase but now more than ever,” Mark Toney, executive director of ratepayer advocate nonprofit The Utility Reform Network, told the Chronicle.

PG&E showed profits of $2.24 billion in 2023, a nearly 25% year-over-year increase, according to KRON4.

Source: The Tribune | By The Editorial Board

PG&E has approximated the cost of running the plant until 2030 at about $5 billion, according to TURN, a utility watchdog group. TURN claims that “significantly understates the true costs of continued operation of DCPP,” according to testimony it submitted to the California Public Utilities Commission. It says the cost will likely be closer to $10 billion. “PG&E’s estimate excludes a wide range of costs,” TURN’s staff attorney Matthew Freedman said. “They arbitrarily limited the scope of costs by just ignoring a whole lot of things.” Those include administrative costs, such as legal and financial services; retention bonuses for employees; $300 million to be set aside to pay for replacement power in case the plant goes offline; and $100 million per year in guaranteed profits, he said. TURN has no estimate beyond 2030, though the Environmental Working Group, which opposes continued operation of the plant, has estimated that keeping Diablo online through 2045 could add from $55 to $124 a year to the typical utility bill.

Estimates of the cost of operating Diablo Canyon past 2025 differ dramatically. Rushing to give the plant a blessing to stay open for 20 more years — without knowing what that might entail — may be great for PG&E, but not so great for the beleaguered ratepayers of California. The Board of Supervisors should keep that in mind before choosing sides.

Source: The Sun-Gazette | By Darren Fraser

“They put it (the item) on the consent agenda,” said Mark Toney, executive director of The Utility Reform Network (TURN). “Which means it was buried with 40 other items. There was no explanation, no discussion because there was one vote on all 40 items. That was something I thought was insulting. Customers deserve an explanation on why they decided to vote that way.” Toney, who is a fixture at CPUC meetings, said the move surprised even him. “I can’t remember the last time they did that,” he said. He also had trouble remembering the last time the CPUC rejected a proposed rate increase. “I can’t get you an absolute but I can’t remember the last time the commission told PG&E no,” he said.

At its last meeting in San Francisco, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved PG&E’s latest request for a rate hike, which becomes effective in April and would add nearly $4 to the average customer’s gas bill and just over $1 to the average electric bill. But for one critic, how the CPUC handled the vote was nearly as odious as the outcome.

Source: Fox 26 News Fresno | By Rich Rodriguez

What's behind the hikes? The executive director of TURN-The Utility Reform Network, Mark Toney says PG&E exceeded its budget on wildfire safety. "So they have a 9 billion overspend but they keep coming back to ratepayers to say we need you to pay for this piece of it. We need you to pay for that piece of it," Toney said. So how is PG&E allowed to overspend on wildfire mitigation? Mark Toney says in 2019 the state legislature passed AB-1054 that created a wildfire insurance fund. He says if a utility has a cost overrun it can go back to the PUC and ask for recovery from ratepayers. "They have a credit card with no limit and a guarantee that ratepayers are going to pay for it. That is the cause of overspending. No limit," Toney said. The new rate goes into effect in April. Mark Toney says ratepayers need to complain to their state lawmakers and Governor Newsom.

Your PG&E bill is going up again. That's twice since the start of 2024. PG&E customers started the new year with a $38 rate hike. Last week PG&E went back to the California Public Utilities Commission and got the okay to raise rates another $5.

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.