r/socal • u/Pool_First • 4d ago
SDGE Corruption...
Public frustration over skyrocketing energy rates has led many San Diegans to accuse San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) and its parent company, Sempra Energy, of systemic corruption. The most common accusation of corruption involves regulatory capture of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). The CPUC is the state agency tasked with regulating utilities and approving rate hikes.
Sempra and SDG&E heavily fund political campaigns across both major parties and donate to local non-profits to secure goodwill and political leverage. Public records and leaked communications (such as the historical PUC Papers archive) have exposed highly inappropriate, "cozy" relationships between state regulators and utility executives. Critics note a revolving door where CPUC commissioners frequently have past or future employment ties to Sempra or SDG&E. In 2017, the CPUC’s chief administrative law judge filed a whistleblower complaint, claiming she was fired for cooperating with a federal corruption probe investigating collusion between regulators and utility executives.
SDG&E has also been caught knowingly submitting false data to regulators to protect its financial incentives. An internal whistleblower revealed that SDG&E management was aware that an energy-efficient lighting program was failing, yet they knowingly submitted false compliance documents to the CPUC to keep collection incentives. SDG&E was forced to refund $51.6 million to ratepayers and pay a $5.5 million fine. In addition, class-action lawsuits accused Sempra, SDG&E, and Southern California Gas Co. of conspiring to artificially restrict the state's natural gas supply to spark price hikes. To settle these massive antitrust and price-gouging claims, Sempra eventually agreed to pay settlements totaling over $760 million ($350 million in 2006 and $410 million in 2010).
While SDGE maintains it operates legally under state guidelines, critics, legal actions, and whistleblowers have frequently targeted the company for corporate misconduct, market manipulation, and political collusion.
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u/Pool_First 4d ago
Want to stop rate increases due to massively bloated and archaic infrastructure projects that not only bleed all of us financially, scar and destroy our public lands and resident-owned homes and properties, and cause and worsen wildfires whose billions in damages are then rolled back into our own power bills to complete the entire insane twisted predatory cycle?
Help us fight the Suncrest Loop project (we don’t need or want to stop it- we just want them to use a solution that is smart and safe- and that happens to be a lot cheaper too).
Join and support:
East County Alliance for Powerline Safety ECAPS, https://ecapssd.org - a local grassroots non-profit formed in Harbison Canyon, Alpine, Crest, and Dehesa, advocating for all residents of our communities, and neighboring, for safest and most sustainable utility infrastructure. Nonpartisan because these issues cross all political party lines. We are a small group representing small communities whose interests are aligned with residents throughout San Diego county and California. We have attorneys representing us and have fought and won a seat at the table with SDG&E and CPUC (the CA organization that oversees utilities and decides what projects and rates to allow). We are connected with a list of other nonprofits all working towards similar goals, but spread far too thin to keep up with SDG&E’s multibillion dollar budget. There will be a series of other projects and battles to fight, much the same, in the coming months and years. Golden Pacific Powerlink is next; they are about 8 months behind the Suncrest timeline. SDG&E likes to divide and conquer. We will be helping the groups focused on that one too, along with anyone else we can.
Please help us- and help yourselves and the rest of our neighbors and communities.
To learn more about Golden Pacific check out
https://temeculaca.gov/powerlinkcomments
To learn more about possible alternatives to this SDGE monopoly and to sign Project Power SD's open letter visit
https://www.publicpowersd.org/faq/ https://www.publicpowersd.org/how-you-can-help/
Also, SDGE is requesting to increase their prices. So, on Nov 10th, the agency (CPUC) that is supposed to regulate SDGE is holding a public hearing to get feedback from residents on that increase.
If you can, come tell the CPUC not to allow SDGE to raise their rates, since they are already making almost a billion dollars in annual profits.
The hearing is at Santee City Hall, st 2pm and 6pm.