How is it greed when CPUC[1] sets what prices utilities can charge, sets how much revenue they can collect, and has line item veto over their spending? See the 2020 PG&E GRC for an example of how much control the California government has over utility companies.[2]
The fact that you think the CPUC is over-regulating PG&E while they rake in sky-high profits and do fuck all to modernize their infrastructure only further demonstrates my point. Google “PG&E Profit 2024” and get back to me.
If you're going to blame anyone for that, blame CPUC. They're the ones who dictate what rates PG&E can set, what their yearly revenue should be, and what they're allowed to modernize. This often causes problems, such as in 2014 when CPUC vetoed PG&E's plan to improve gas leak detection.[1]
> We adopt TURN’s forecast reducing PG&E’s MWC FI forecast by $27.8 million composed of $14.1 million (based on a lower leak find rate) and 13.7 million (based on a five-year survey cycle). We base the adopted forecast on TURN’s combined (traditional and Picarro survey) leak find rate of 2.547% instead of PG&E’s find rate of 3.56% of services.
The language itself is quite dry, but in short: CPUC stopped PG&E from improving their gas leak detection systems. When gas lines inevitably leaked and caused fires, PG&E was blamed, not CPUC.
Like all utilities in California, PG&E's maximum profits are set by CPUC.[2] CPUC has been reducing these maximums over time. So if you're upset at PG&E's profits (which are around 10% of revenue), you should blame the people setting the profits, not the company that doesn't control what they can charge, what they can spend money on, or how much profit they can make.
PG&E is grossly mismanaged and incompetent, but that's because they're part of a system that combines the worst parts of capitalism with the worst parts of government. If PG&E wanted to charge less, they couldn't because CPUC sets the minimum as well as the maximum rates. If a large consumer of electricity wants to switch to a community utility provider or to an off-grid solution, CPUC mandates that the consumer pay the original utility provider for the privilege of not getting the utility anymore.[3] The incentive structure could not be more backwards.
The continued, logical flaw in your argument is a false opposition between industry and the state. California’s wildly corrupt Democratic Party machine is bought and paid for by PG&E to create this exact state of affairs and the CPUC allows them to profiteer and bribe their politician pals in return, setting the rest of us on fire as a consequence.
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Public_Utilities_Co...
2. https://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Published/G000/M354/K...