Press release from Governor Gavin Newsom:
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SACRAMENTO – In the wake of utility-directed power shutoffs that impacted nearly two million Californians, Governor Gavin Newsom today demanded that Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) be held accountable.
The Governor urged PG&E to provide affected customers an automatic credit or rebate of $100 per residential customer and $250 per small business as some compensation for their hardships. Governor Newsom also sent a letter to California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) President Marybel Batjer confirming that the Commission will be conducting a comprehensive inquiry and review of PG&E’s planning, implementation and decision-making process failures.
“Californians should not pay the price for decades of PG&E’s greed and neglect,” said Governor Newsom. “PG&E’s mismanagement of the power shutoffs experienced last week was unacceptable. We will continue to hold PG&E accountable to make radical changes – prioritizing the safety of Californians and modernizing its equipment.”
In July, the Governor signed AB 1054, which established new requirements for PG&E to improve safety and address decades of mismanagement. In his letter to President Batjer, the Governor asked the CPUC to increase its scrutiny of PG&E’s progress on long overdue actions required under AB 1054 to make its infrastructure resilient to wildfires to avoid Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) events.
Read the full letter to CPUC President Batjer here and to PG&E CEO William Johnson here.