Jonathan Swift stated 400 years ago that “Politics, as the word is commonly understood, is nothing but corruption.” Mohandas Gandhi said, “There is sufficiency in the world for man’s need but not for man’s greed.”

Why has no legislation made it to the floor of either state house that is favorable to those of us who pay PG$E’s outrageous rates? And why have several pieces of legislation giving PG$E a free ride on all the death and destruction caused by it made into law with little debate? Are there principles involved, or is it just corruption and greed?

The “Big Three” consist of PG$E, Southern California Edison (SCE), and San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E). Since 2000, the Big Three have given state politicians $202 million. In 2023, PG$E made $2.26 billion in net profit. That is net profit, not gross. Net profit for 2024 was $2.47 billion, yet they want another increase this year. SCE’s net profit for 2024 was $1.69 billion, with a demand for an increase for 2025 of 23%. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has allowed rate increase after rate increase. These increases are outrageous, especially in view of the already obscene net profits being raked in by them.

Legislatively, this stranglehold on our government by the Big Three has been going on for decades. Here are two recent examples.

• SB 901 of 2018 made it to then-Gov. Brown’s desk with little debate. Among other things, this bill passed the cost of major wildfires along to us if the CPUC determined that PG&E had operated in a “reasonable” fashion.

• AB 1054 of 2019 limited PG&E liability. All of this was accomplished behind the scenes and signed into law by Gov. Newsom. It created a fund consisting of billions of dollars in ratepayers’ money to protect PG&E from having to pay for the death and destruction they cause. Suddenly, the ratepayer is on the hook for at least half of all damage no matter how negligent PG&E, SCE, or SDG&E are.

There have been a substantial number of bills designed to give us a break from PG$E graft and greed. None made it out of committee. Here are some examples:

• AB 2079 of 2020 would have banned utilities from any political contributions. It never made it to the floor.

• AB 2205 of 2024 would have required a utility rate cut of 30%. It died in committee.

• SB 938 of 2024 would have prohibited PG&E from passing the costs of lobbying or advertising along to ratepayers. It died in committee.

• SB 1003 of 2024 would have required PG&E et al, to take immediate action on lines presenting the most danger. It died in committee.

“PG&E is a criminal enterprise,” to use a quote from Federal Judge William Alsup of San Bruno gas explosion fame. It has been involved in deadly disasters after deadly disaster including poisoning Hinkley ground water (1952-1966), San Bruno Gas Explosion (2010), Wine Country Fires (2017), Camp Fire (2018, deadliest fire in California history), Zogg Fire (2020), and Dixie Fire (2021), to name but a few. In the last decade according to Cal Fire Redbooks, PG&E is responsible for incinerating at least 135 people, burning down 30,817 buildings, and scorching 1,720,085 acres of California since 2010. Numerous records show PG&E has moved millions of dollars from maintenance to profit and executive bonuses. Safety takes a distant back seat.

On April 24th, “Stop PG$E” and “Reclaim Our Power,” two grassroots organizations dedicated to reducing power rates, will gather at the Alquist Building, 1516 9th St., Sacramento, to speak directly to the CPUC regarding the consequences of all the rates hikes they have approved. Join us! People wishing to speak must sign up in advance at the Public Advisors Table. Sign-ups will take place beginning at about 10:00 a.m. At 2:30 p.m., after speaking to the commission, a protest is scheduled for Capitol Mall Area 1, corner of 15th and L Streets near the Vietnam War Memorial.

Ken Hale is a retired Cal Fire Battalion Chief retired after 41 fire seasons and represents Stoppgenow.com. He is a resident of Grass Valley.