After rate hikes this year, PG&E announces nearly 25% increase in profits to $2.2B for 2023

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- The Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) announced on Thursday that it saw an almost 25 percent increase in profits for 2023. This comes after the utility company slapped customers with substantial rate hikes at the beginning of this year.

"It's a joke. It's an absolute joke."

Shock on the streets of San Francisco Thursday.

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Earlier in the day, PG&E announced its profits for 2023 surged to over $2.2 billion - a jump of almost 25 percent.

"These outrageous profits that the PG&E shareholders are pocketing are coming out of the pockets of customers," said Mark Toney.

Toney works for The Utility Reform Network or TURN.

He says the profits are a slap in the face to customers after substantial rate hikes at the beginning of this year.

"I think a lot of people get upset and say, PG&E cries poor me and yet they have plenty of money," Toney said.

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PG&E customers already paid some of the highest energy bills in the country before 2024's hikes.

PG&E declined to do an on-camera interview with ABC7 News, but sent us a statement that says:

"The investments we plan in 2024 and beyond focus on three goals: keeping our energy system safe and reliable for customers, meeting growing energy demand and adding even more renewables to our energy mix. At the same time, we're aggressively focused on funding new ways to work so that we can keep future bill increases at or below a broader, long-term inflation rate of two percent to four percent."

Those words of little comfort though to several PG&E customers.

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Many of whom tell us they don't see where their money is actually going.

"It just takes a tree to come down and we're out of power for, what I think the last storm was a couple of days for some people," said Lisa Warren.

And with PG&E anticipating perhaps even better profits for this year, TURN says it wants concrete action to stop bills from rising further.

"We need a cap on rate increases to be no more than the cost of living adjustment provided by social security," Toney said.

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