Get this month’s utility bill yet? Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) just got approval to raise YOUR rates by $8 a month, but that’s not all. They’re also trying to add another $5 a month on top of that! That’s two rate hikes, $156 a year per customer, and at least $2.4 billion over three years.(1) For what? To “ensure safe, reliable gas transmission and storage.” But here’s the worst part, Californians already gave PG&E hundreds of millions of dollars for safety measures and they chose to spend it on shareholder dividends and executive bonuses!(2) Anthony, many people in Fresno can’t afford an extra $13 per month, and those that can afford it are sick of being forced to spend more and more for the same thing. PG&E and its shareholders must be held responsible for these improvements, not innocent ratepayers who ALREADY paid for them once. JOIN US! Click here to stand up to PG&E and demand an end to these outrageous gas rate hikes! In 2010, the Bay Area was shaken when 8 people were killed and 38 homes were destroyed in a pipeline explosion in San Bruno. Since then, PG&E has tried to avoid liability for the disaster. But here’s the thing: federal investigators documented a litanty of failures by PG&E.(3) Exposing missing records, lack of adequate testing and repairs to pipelines, and failure to follow critical rules. And their punishment? A fine of $6 million dollars, a slap on the wrist compared to the hundreds of millions they make in profits every year. That’s not the end of it, the San Bruno explosion should never have happened! PG&E raised ample funds for safety before the San Bruno disaster, but that money went to executives and shareholders. And to top it off, PG&E has spent the past three years using the San Bruno explosion to scare the public and to justify its rate increases. Following the explosion, PG&E were allowed to charge customers $300 million for testing, pipeline repairs, and updating records. But now they’re still using that same excuses to try to raise rates AGAIN.(4) It is unacceptable that PG&E is continually raising utility rates while they still have not addressed problems from years ago. Nell, SIGN THE PETITION if you think PG&E customers should not have to pay AGAIN for improvements and pipeline repairs that PG&E failed to do right the first time! On top of everything else, revelations continue to surface exposing an alarmingly cozy relationship between PG&E and its regulator, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). Last month, it was a PG&E executive telling CPUC officials “I love you.” And days ago, 7,000 emails were released showing that a state-sponsored gas safety conference organized by the CPUC was nothing more than a front for PG&E to push its agenda. The most damning piece of evidence is that a PG&E staffer actually WROTE a letter signed by the President of the CPUC, Michael Peevey, to a top federal safety official.(5) The conference was eventually cancelled, but it‘s clear that the CPUC cannot be trusted to regulate PG&E appropriately. NEXT WEEK the commission is holding informal hearings on the upcoming $5 rate hike, and we must have the courage to make our voices heard! Hold PG&E accountable for its numerous mistakes and join us to reject the latest rate hike proposal! Yours in the fight for safety and accountability, Sarah, along with Annie, Eddie, Laura, Lindsay, Michael, Paul, Scottie, and Tim (the Courage team) 1. sfgate/news/article/Average-monthly-PG-amp-E-bill-to-increase-by-5689150.php 2. sacbee/2014/09/03/6673592/editorial-pge-slammed-with-record.html 3. mercurynews/san-bruno-fire/ci_18787566 4. mercurynews/business/ci_22232594/state-regulators-approve-pg-e-rate-increase-cover 5. sfgate/news/article/PUC-s-invitation-reads-like-PG-amp-E-s-language-5694620.php
Posted on: Mon, 08 Sep 2014 20:33:33 +0000
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