California utility giant PG&E has asked state regulators for permission to pass the cost of a $26.6 million shareholder incentive onto gas customers — a request that has drawn sharp criticism from ratepayers and consumer advocates.
What PG&E Says
PG&E told customers that its gas procurement strategy from November 2022 through October 2023 produced roughly $170 million in savings. The company has filed with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to allow a performance-based incentive for shareholders tied to those procurement savings. PG&E says the arrangement complies with CPUC rules because customers would retain the majority of the savings while shareholders can receive an incentive when procurement costs are lower than established market benchmarks.
Why Customers Object
If regulators approve the request, the average household gas bill would rise by about $0.41 per month. Critics say the proposal is unfair given rising utility costs and strained household budgets. Sixty-seven-year-old customer Janice Mercado told NBC Bay Area,
"The PG&E rates keep going up and our Social Security doesn't. So it's hard to balance the budget here."
Mercado and other customers described small social activities, like a senior knitting group in Antioch, as among the few things they can still afford.
Mark Toney, executive director of The Utility Reform Network (TURN), questioned the logic of rewarding shareholders for doing what customers expect: keeping rates as low as possible. He told NBC Bay Area:
"If they want their shareholders to be rewarded when they underspend, then their shareholders should be held accountable when they overspend. And that's not what PG&E is asking for."
What's Next
The CPUC is now reviewing PG&E's filing and will decide whether the incentive complies with commission rules and whether the cost is reasonable to pass on to customers. A decision is not expected until sometime next year. Until then, the filing has prompted broader debate about who should benefit when utilities report savings — customers or shareholders.
Bottom line: PG&E maintains customers would still net savings overall, but the proposal would require households to pay a small, recurring amount so investors can receive a performance payout — a trade-off many consumer advocates and customers say is unfair while bills remain tight.
