A new California legislative bill would stop utility companies from passing political lobbying, advertising, and shareholder expenses onto energy consumers.

Assemblymember Marc Berman (D-Menlo Park), introduced Assembly Bill 1167 on Feb. 21. The bill requires utility companies to justify rate increases. It makes “unjust” or “unreasonable” charges unlawful, according to the bill text.

“The California Ratepayer Protection Act is a common sense proposal to hold for-profit utilities accountable when they attempt to fleece customers for expenses that utility shareholders should be paying for, such as political lobbying, promotional marketing, or shareholder-related expenses like travel on private jets, Berman said in a news release.

Related Story: Baked-in-Profits Send PG&E and SCE Bills Soaring. Are They Excessive?

“At a time when monopoly utility companies are reaping record profits, and Californians are paying record high utility bills, it is insulting to force ratepayers to pay for activities that only serve to benefit shareholders.”

PG&E: We’re ‘Laser Focused’ on Lower Energy Costs

In a statement to GV Wire, PG&E said the company is exploring different ways to keep energy rates low. They also said rates today are lower than they were in 2024.

“PG&E is delivering on our commitment to stabilize customer bills. Residential electric customers are paying lower bills today, compared to a year ago (January 2024),” said Jeff Smith, spokesperson for the utility. “We are laser focused on continuing our progress and exploring every opportunity to lower energy costs for our customers.”

A SoCal Edison spokesperson said they don’t use money from electricity rates to pay for lobbying.

“No ratepayer dollars are used to support our state and federal legislative lobbying efforts,” said Gabriela Ornelas, spokesperson with SoCal Edison.

She said the utility is watching AB 1167.

“Southern California Edison monitors all legislative bills as they are introduced and actively advocates for policies that will benefit our customers,” Ornelas said.

Between 2019 and 2023, the three major utility companies — Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern Edison, and San Diego Gas & Electric, raised average rates between 48% and 67%, Berman said.

In 2024, PG&E reported $2.47 billion in profits, while also requesting six rate hikes, according to Berman’s office. SoCal Edison earned $1.69 billion in 2024 after increasing rates by 9.8%.

“California utilities are making record-breaking profits while hardworking people across the state struggle with skyrocketing bills,” said Mark Toney, executive director at The Utility Reform Network.

“The people of California deserve better than to have their money used against them, to pay for utility lobbying and promotional advertising. It is time legislators take action to hold for-profit utilities accountable.”

Utility Companies Try to Bake Political, PR Expenses into Power Rates: Investigations

Last week, PG&E asked the California Public Utilities Commission to increase rates by 11.3%. The utility company said the price hike would help attract and keep investors.

The company said in a release that it pays the lowest dividends in the industry. The company estimated the increase would increase costs by $5.50 a month.

“Investors expect to be compensated for the risk they take when providing that funding,” the company said in a statement.

However, CalMatters reported in January that the “shareholder rates as approved by the utility commission have outpaced those for the 10-year treasury bonds, which are often used as a benchmark by researchers because they track inflation and are considered riskless.”

Recent investigations also revealed that PG&E and SoCal Gas have tried to hit ratepayers with lobbying and PR expenses.

In 2023, SoCalGas tried to pay for $36 million of lobbying efforts against environmental reform with customer funds, according to The Sacramento Bee. In 2024, PG&E used $6 million in wildfire funds on TV ads.