OAKLAND — PG&E profits soared during its second quarter, powered by higher monthly bills that are rising far faster than the Bay Area’s overall inflation rate.
During the April-through-June second quarter, PG&E posted a profit of $520 million, which was up 28.1% from the utility titan’s profits from the same three-month period the year before, the company reported Thursday.
PG&E Chief Executive Officer Patricia Poppe in Vacaville, 2023. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Oakland-based PG&E generated $5.99 billion in operating revenue in the 2024 second quarter, which was up 13.2% from the same quarter in 2023.
Electricity operations were the primary driver of the jump in overall revenue, although PG&E’s gas revenues were also higher.
Revenue for electricity operations totaled $4.46 billion in the April-June quarter, which was up 15.7% from the year before.
Natural gas operations generated $1.53 billion in revenue, an increase of 6.3% from the year-ago second quarter.
Over the 12 months ending in January 2024, combined bills for a typical residential customer who received electricity and gas services from PG&E averaged roughly $294.50 a month.
That was a 22.3% increase over the average monthly bill in January 2023. In sharp contrast, the Bay Area inflation rate rose 2.6% during 2023.
Despite these ominous trends, PG&E executives believe monthly bills for its residential customers will start to decrease at some point in the next few years.
‘We…see a bright future where we lower average household energy costs, including from transportation, and further cut carbon emissions,” said PG&E Chief Executive Officer Patricia Poppe.
Excluding certain items that are not directly related to PG&E’s typical operations, adjusted profits for PG&E totaled $674 million in the second quarter, a 36.4% increase from the same period a year ago.
“We’re delivering for our customers and hometowns today through a foundation of safe operations, wildfire risk reduction and solid financial progress,” Poppe said.
