The CPUC Must Protect Ratepayers, Not Shareholders

California families are already struggling with skyrocketing energy bills while monopoly utilities are raking in record profits. Now those same companies are asking state regulators for permission to guarantee themselves even bigger payouts -- straight from your 🫵 monthly bill.

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) is supposed to protect consumers, not reward shareholders. Regulators have the power, and the responsibility, to keep energy affordable for everyone.

If the CPUC sides with the utilities, Californians could pay billions more each year. But by approving a lower, fairer rate of return, the commission can help keep the clean energy transition within reach for working families.

We can't build an affordable, renewable energy future if utilities keep rigging the system in their favor. The CPUC must make sure that clean energy isn't just a new way for these companies to line their pockets; it must be a path toward a fairer, more sustainable California for everyone.

Clean energy should be a public good, not a profit scheme.

✍️ Add your name to demand that the CPUC protect ratepayers and approve a lower cost of capital for utilities.

💬 Make your message personal: When you sign, take a moment to tell the CPUC what rising energy costs mean for you, your family, or your community. Regulators need to hear directly from Californians about how affordability affects real lives.

For example:

"My electric bill has increased significantly over the past few years, and it's forcing my family to make tough choices every month. I support the clean energy transition, and it has to be affordable for everyone."

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The CPUC Must Protect Ratepayers

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Dear California Public Utilities Commissioners, I am writing to urge the Commission to approve lower rates of return in the Cost of Capital proceeding. Investor-owned utilities, like PG&E, are asking for a return on equity (ROE) of roughly 11%, but testimony from financial experts, including from the Sierra Club and Protect Our Communities Foundation, shows that the market rate for long-term capital is closer to 6%. While California ratepayers face an affordability crisis, the state's investor-owned utilities are asking regulators to further increase their record-breaking profits by approving higher returns. While utilities argue that they might not be able to attract capital if the rate of return is too low, investing in California utilities is a low-risk investment, with nearly guaranteed cost recovery for utility investments and public financial support for wildfire liability. The Commission has the ability and the responsibility to protect ratepayers by approving a lower rate of return in line with the recommendations from the Sierra Club, the Protect Our Communities Foundation, and other parties. California needs major investments in clean energy and transmission infrastructure to meet its climate and renewable energy goals, meaning utilities stand to make billions of dollars in nearly-guaranteed profits. The Commission's job is to give the utilities a rate of return that will match the market cost of capital -- no more and no less. Ratepayers are dependent on the Commission to ensure they're not handing utilities windfall profits and operating as a wealth transfer from the public to corporate investors. I urge the Commission to do what it can to address the affordability crisis by approving a lower rate of return in this proceeding. Thank you.

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