It’s Time to Hold PG&E Accountable
We must act today to reduce consumer utility rate increases, cut wasteful spending by for-profit utility executives of ratepayer dollars, and accelerate wildfire prevention.
Did You Know?
Since 2017, the corporate utility Pacific Gas and Electric caused more than 30 wildfires that claimed 113 lives, scorched over 1.5 million acres, and destroyed nearly 24,000 homes.
In the last three years alone, PG&E residential customers have seen their bills skyrocket 38%, or an average of 12.7% annually, a rate three times as high as inflation.
Days after PG&E told a bankruptcy judge in 2020 that it was “not financially sustainable” to employ 5,500 tree trimmers to reduce vegetation-triggered wildfire risk, they pushed to give themselves $188 million in bonuses. The following year, they paid $51.2 million in compensation to Patti Poppe, making her the highest-paid CEO of any for-profit utility in the U.S.
It is time to demand that executives of PG&E and other for-profit utilities focus ratepayer dollars on safety ahead of their own wallets.
Fire Accountability Infrastructure for Ratepayers (FAIR California) is a diverse coalition of California utility ratepayers, labor unions, consumer advocates, public safety, small business, and environmental groups who have had enough of rising utility rates and a lack of focus on safety. We seek to hold for-profit utilities, including PG&E, accountable for how they spend our hard-earned ratepayer dollars.