Hill Calls CPUC’s Plan ‘Grossly Misleading’ On How Costs Will Be Apportioned to Fix PG&E Gas System And Says Ratepayers Will Be Saddled With Nearly Two-Thirds Of The Bill
Assemblyman Jerry Hill’s statement:
The proposed ruling issued today by the California Public Utilities Commission is grossly misleading. The CPUC claims at the beginning of the ruling that ratepayers will absorb ONLY about a third of the costs of the $2.2 billion first phase to fix PG&E’s gas pipeline system.
But the two-thirds figure is only for the first four years of a project that PG&E customers will be billed for over 65 years and as bogus as PG&E’s claim that it puts safety before profits.
The report issued by the commission also ignores about $1 billion in capital costs – and that doesn’t include interest, shareholder profit, and taxes on shareholder profit.
Buried in attachment E, page 3 at the end of the 164-page report is the true cost to ratepayers, who would be wise to hold on to their wallets.
That’s because the CPUC – which continues to act on PG&E behalf rather than ratepayers – actually intends to saddle ratepayers with a nearly a $1.4 billion bill, or about two-thirds of the total cost of the first phase. And PG&E has estimated the second phase will cost an additional $6 to $9 billion.
One positive aspect of the proposed ruling is that PG&E would pick up cost over-runs of the project, which PG&E had tried to foist on ratepayers. Another good point is that commission denies PG&E’s request to have ratepayers pick up the cost of fixing the utilities faulty record-keeping system.
Assemblyman Jerry Hill’s statement:
The proposed ruling issued today by the California Public Utilities Commission is grossly misleading. The CPUC claims at the beginning of the ruling that ratepayers will absorb ONLY about a third of the costs of the $2.2 billion first phase to fix PG&E’s gas pipeline system.
But the two-thirds figure is only for the first four years of a project that PG&E customers will be billed for over 65 years and as bogus as PG&E’s claim that it puts safety before profits.
The report issued by the commission also ignores about $1 billion in capital costs – and that doesn’t include interest, shareholder profit, and taxes on shareholder profit.
Buried in attachment E, page 3 at the end of the 164-page report is the true cost to ratepayers, who would be wise to hold on to their wallets.
That’s because the CPUC – which continues to act on PG&E behalf rather than ratepayers – actually intends to saddle ratepayers with a nearly a $1.4 billion bill, or about two-thirds of the total cost of the first phase. And PG&E has estimated the second phase will cost an additional $6 to $9 billion.
One positive aspect of the proposed ruling is that PG&E would pick up cost over-runs of the project, which PG&E had tried to foist on ratepayers. Another good point is that commission denies PG&E’s request to have ratepayers pick up the cost of fixing the utilities faulty record-keeping system.
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