Utilities
Utilities - Regulated Electric
$41.04B
28K
PG&E Corporation is a holding company whose primary operating subsidiary is Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a public utility operating in Northern and Central California. The Utility generates revenues mainly through the sale and delivery of electricity and natural gas to customers. The Utility's service area is located in a large portion of California.
Key insights and themes extracted from this filing
The Utility's operating revenues increased by $2.7 billion, or 13%, in 2023 compared to 2022. These increases were primarily due to a $1.5 billion increase in base revenues authorized in the 2023 GRC and other authorized increases.
Net income increased to $2.5 billion in 2023 compared to $2.2 billion in 2022. This increase is driven by the increase in operating revenues and a decrease in wildfire-related expenses.
Total operating expenses increased by $2 billion, or 10%, in 2023 compared to 2022. These increases were primarily due to the recognition of previously deferred expenses and an increase in costs associated with RUBA.
The Utility's capital investment plan, increasing procurement of renewable power and energy storage, increasing environmental regulations, and the cumulative impact of other public policy requirements collectively place continuing upward pressure on customer rates.
The Utility continues to advance decarbonization initiatives for its natural gas delivery system, including meeting the CPUC-mandated methane emission reduction target ahead of schedule and accelerated initiatives to meet its voluntary 2030 reduction goal.
The Utility has applied to transfer its non-nuclear generation assets to Pacific Generation and potentially sell a minority interest in Pacific Generation.
In 2023, the Utility implemented PG&E's Safety Excellence Management System, which is a more systematic approach to assess risk and evaluate or implement controls for safe operation based on industry standards.
PG&E Corporation and the Utility have implemented a regional service model to bring the Utility closer to the hometowns it serves. Through the regional service model, the Utility has restructured its service area into five regions, with leaders assigned for each region to deliver improved public and employee safety, customer service, and operational reliability outcomes.
PG&E Corporation and the Utility use the Lean operating system, which includes five basic "plays”: visual management; operating reviews; problem solving; standard work; and waste elimination. Waste elimination, the fifth Lean play, was deployed in 2023 and enables the companies to identify and eliminate inefficiencies in both process and workflow in a sustainable manner.
The risks and uncertainties associated with wildfires that have occurred or may occur in the Utility's service area, including the wildfire that began on October 23, 2019 northeast of Geyserville in Sonoma County, California (the “2019 Kincade fire”), the wildfire that began on September 27, 2020 in the area of Zogg Mine Road and Jenny Bird Lane, north of Igo in Shasta County, California (the “2020 Zogg fire”), the wildfire that began on July 13, 2021 near the Cresta Dam in the Feather River Canyon in Plumas County, California (the “2021 Dixie fire”), the wildfire that began on September 6, 2022 near Oxbow Reservoir in Placer County, California (the “2022 Mosquito fire”), and any other wildfires for which the causes have yet to be determined.
Cyber or physical attacks, including acts of terrorism, war, and vandalism, on the Utility or its third-party vendors, contractors, or customers (or others with whom they have shared data) which could result in operational disruption; the misappropriation or loss of confidential or proprietary assets, information or data.
Existing and future regulation and federal, state or local legislation, their implementation, and their interpretation; the cost to comply with such regulation and legislation; and the extent to which the Utility recovers its associated compliance and investment costs.
The impact of reductions in Utility customer demand for electricity and natural gas, driven by customer self-generation, customer departures to CCAs, DA providers, and government-owned utilities, and legislative mandates to reduce the use of natural gas.
The Utility competes with other natural gas pipeline companies for customers transporting natural gas into the southern California market on the basis of transportation rates, access to competitively priced supplies of natural gas, and the quality and reliability of transportation services.
Jurisdictions may attempt to acquire the Utility's assets through eminent domain, and third parties may attempt to acquire the Utility's customers by bypassing the Utility's electric infrastructure system.
The Utility plans to meet its cost reduction goal through increased efficiencies, including waste elimination through the Lean operating system.
In 2022 and 2023, the Utility took additional steps to improve customer reliability through several targeted programs, including vegetation management activities to reduce vegetation caused outages, upgrading the system to improve sectionalization, and installing fault indicators to reduce restoration times.
System hardening entails repairing, replacing, or eliminating existing power lines in HFTDs and installing stronger and more resilient equipment. The Utility has set a goal to underground 10,000 miles of electric distribution lines in high wildfire risk areas.
EPSS adjusts the sensitivity of circuit protection devices on selected power lines to de-energize them in less than one-tenth of a second in the event of a disturbance to help prevent potential ignitions.
The Utility uses multiple weather models on a daily basis that indicate which circuits to enable with safety settings and which to put in normal protection settings, optimizing for wildfire risk reduction when needed and enhancing reliability when wildfire risk is low.
Since 2018, the Utility has reoriented its asset inspections programs toward asset condition and consequence risk, particularly wildfire risk, and these programs have become more thorough, standardized, digitized, and verifiable.
The Utility's total capital expenditures (including accruals) are forecasted to be $10.4 billion for 2024, $12.7 billion for 2025, $11.5 billion for 2026, $13.6 billion for 2027, and $14.0 billion for 2028.
In November 2023, the Board of Directors of PG&E Corporation reinstated the dividend on PG&E Corporation common stock, declaring a dividend of $21 million, or approximately 1 cent per share, which was paid by January 16, 2024.
PG&E Corporation and the Utility are committed to taking steps to improve their credit ratings and metrics over time, including by reducing PG&E Corporation's debt by at least $2 billion by the end of 2026.
PG&E Corporation and the Utility continue to pursue policies and programs that enable safe, reliable, and affordable clean and resilient energy for their customers.
PG&E Corporation and the Utility measure their progress toward the purpose by considering their impact on the “triple bottom line” of people, planet, and prosperity, which is underpinned by performance.
PG&E Corporation's and the Utility's goal is to foster a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workforce culture where all employees find it enjoyable to work with and for PG&E Corporation and the Utility and feel they belong.
The impacts of climate change on the Utility's infrastructure are already a reality. Record-breaking extreme heat and heat waves are increasingly a regular occurrence throughout California.
The CPUC has broad discretion to determine the amount of penalties based on the totality of the circumstances, including such factors as the gravity of the violations, the type of harm caused by the violations and the number of persons affected, and the good faith of the entity charged in attempting to achieve compliance, after notification of a violation.
The Utility's business is subject to the regulatory jurisdiction of various agencies at the federal, state, and local levels. At the state level, the Utility is regulated primarily by the CPUC. At the federal level, the Utility is regulated primarily by the FERC and the NRC.