Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3825 Nov 22- Dec 6 | Page 24

22
Nov 22 - Dec 6, 2019
VOL.38 • ISS. 25
PG&E Spends $1.3 Million
on Lobbying in Third
Quarter after Spending
$10 Million in 2018
T
he PG&E shutoffs of power to
over 2 million people in recent
weeks, including those of Fish Sniffer
staff, readers and advertisers, have made
our lives very difficult in northern and
central California. People’s work, personal
and fishing schedules have been greatly
disrupted by the power blackouts, as well
as by the fires still raging throughout the
state.
So, you will be interested know that
bankruptcy proceedings for the Pacific
Gas and Electric Company continued and
the utility sought rate increases as PG&E
increased its spending on lobbying in the
third quarter of 2019.
The investor-owned utility, the largest
one in California, spent a total of
$1,321,776.76, including $945,095.17
on general lobbying and $376,381.59 on
PUC lobbying, from July 1 to September
30, according to forms PG&E filed with
the California Secretary of State on
October 31.
PG&E said it spent the money lobbying
on an array of legislation, including the
Wildfire Victim Recovery Bond legisla-
tion, Wildfire Risk Mitigation (Gener-
ators), Wildfire Issues and Wildfire
Revenue Bond Proposal.
The increase in spending took place after
PG&E spent $876,445 on lobbying from
January 1 to June 30 of this year. The total
of lobbying expenses by PG&E this year
to date amounts to $2,198,221.76.
The $2,198,221.76 was effectively
spent, since in July the California Legisla-
ture passed AB 1054, described by Food
& Water Watch as a “far reaching bailout
for investor owned utilities.” Governor
Gavin Newsom, in spite of many environ-
mental and public interest groups urging
him not to do so, signed the bill.
The legislature also passed Senate Bill
209 that establishes a state-run weather
center to help predict wildfire threats
The utility spent the money on both
“general lobbying” and PUC lobbying in
both the first and second quarters, as it did
in the third quarter.
PG&E spent $495,641.71 on general
lobbying from April 1 to June 30 after
spending $214,736.74 on general lobbying
in the first quarter. That’s a total of
$710,378.45 on general lobbying in the
first two quarters.
PG&E also spent $77,761,99 on PUC
lobbying in the second quarter and
$88,304.62 in the first quarter, a total of
$166,066.66.
All of this money that PG&E spent on
lobbying for AB 1054 and other legisla-
tion impacting PG&E, along with massive
campaign contributions to legislators
and $208,000 to Governor Newsom’s
campaign, helped to ensure that the
controversial legislation passed and that
Newsom signed it.
“PG&E donated millions to California
politicians after it was convicted in 2016
of 6 federal felonies connected to the 2010
San Bruno pipeline explosion that killed
8 people,” reported ABC10 as part of the
ABC10 Originals project FIRE - POWER
- MONEY, a documentary series that
breaks down California’s wildfire crisis
into its core elements.
“Newsom, a Democrat, received more
than $200,000 from the federal offender.
The Republican and Democratic parties of
California each took more than $500,000,”
ABC10 said.
It is not against the law for a convicted
felon to donate campaign money, nor is it
for the politician to accept it.
Ninety-eight legislators, the majority of
sitting State Senators and Assemblymem-
bers, received more than $548,005 from
PG&E in the last election cycle, according
to ABC10.
Former PUC President Loretta Lynch
compared AB 1054 to Enron’s successful
efforts to undo ratepayer protections in
2000. In response to efforts to use wildfire
protections to enact sweeping electricity
reforms that leave customers vulner-
able, Food & Water Watch California
State Director Alexandra Nagy had this
statement:
“While a California victims’ compensa-
tion fund is needed as our climate-change-
fueled wildfire season becomes longer,
deadlier and more destructive, this rush
to ram through AB1054 benefits utilities
like PG&E, not ratepayers. Capping utility
shareholder liability while expecting rate-
payers to write a blank check for future
wildfires is not a wildfire policy California
needs.”
In a press conference on October 29,
Governor Newsom said, “PG&E simply
cannot take ‘10 years’ to ‘get their act
together.’
“Their years and years of greed and
mismanagement are OVER. These mass
power shutoffs are UNACCEPTABLE,”
said Newsom.
Many Californians are now calling for a
public takeover of PG&E. On November
1, Governor Newsom announced that
he would convene PG&E executives,
shareholders, fire victims and bondholders
in Sacramento at press time to work out a
“solution” to the investor-owned utility’s
crisis. He threatened state intervention if a
deal is not reached quickly.
“Governor Newsom is right to be
exploring a public takeover of PG &E,
but given the utility’s track record, public
power should be plan A, not a backup
option,” said Nagy, also the Food & Water
Action California State Director. “If
Newsom really wants to usher California
into a safe, reliable renewable energy
future, he should immediately move
forward with exploring public power
options. It’s time to move away from
relying on utilities controlled by for-profit
corporations like PG&E to more account-
able and affordable options like public
power.”
Last year Pacific Gas & Electric
dumped $9,580,357 into general lobbying,
including total payments to in-house
staff lobbyists and lobbying firms, along
with paying for meals and other items
for legislators. PG&E even surpassed the
Western States Petroleum Association,
the largest and most powerful corporate
lobbing group in Sacramento, in lobbying
expenses.
PG&E also spent $349,522 in 2018 on
lobbying the California Public Utilities
Commission (CPUC), the regulatory
agency that regulates privately owned
public utilities in the state, including
electric power, telecommunications,
natural gas and water companies.
The company spent the most money
in the seventh quarter of the 2017-2018
session, dumping $6,111,332 into general
lobbying and $168,668 into lobbying the
CPUC. This is one of the largest amounts
of money spent on lobbying by any orga-
By Dan Bacher
nization in one quarter.
the credit line to Pacific Gas & Electric
Here is the total spent lobbying in 2018
in what the group called “an unneeded
by PG&E:
emergency process that allowed no time
SESSION QUARTER GENERAL
for scrutiny.”
LOBBYING P.U.C. LOBBYING
“The unprecedented vote makes it easier
2017-2018 8th $1,229,703.61
for PG&E to go into bankruptcy and avoid
$70,918.42
accountability to wildfire victims, rate-
2017-2018 7th $6,111,332.71
payers and taxpayers,” according to the
$168,668.41
group.
2017-2018 6th $1,655,270.60
In April, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Dennis
$65,114.34
Montali approved PG&E’s plans to pay
2017-2018 5th $584,052.29 $44,822.33
$235 million in bonuses to its executives
Of this total money, the company spent
this year. Montali approved the plan at
$6,369,631 in 2018 on “payments for
a hearing in San Francisco, in spite of
grassroots and other advocacy” related
objections from lawyers for the 2017 and
to state legislative proposals improving
2018 California wildfire victims.
wildlife preparedness and response,
For more information, read: Judge
according to the filing.
OKs $235 million in bonuses for PG&E
During a court hearing on January 31,
employees, as company struggles with
a PG&E lawyer said the company is
bankruptcy https://www.sacbee.com/
facing 750 lawsuits, many of them over
news/business/article229603929.html
the Camp and other
fires that devastated
the state over the
past couple of years.
The nation’s
largest utility, the
Pacific Gas and
Electric Company
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