San Francisco is gearing up for a potential legal showdown with Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (PG&E), as city officials explore options to take control of the city's electricity distribution from the beleaguered utility giant. This latest move comes on the heels of a weekend blackout that impacted 130,000 homes and businesses, reigniting frustrations over the utility's reliability and response times. The city's tumultuous relationship with PG&E has reached a point where legislative efforts are underway to facilitate the city's separation from the utility.
State Sen. Scott Wiener plans to introduce legislation to make it easier for cities like San Francisco to establish public utilities. According to an article by SF Standard, Wiener stated, "PG&E is too large, and it’s not adequately maintaining its infrastructure." He further criticized the utility for prioritizing "the interest of shareholders above the public interest." Supervisor Matt Dorsey supports the public takeover notion and suggests the city could use bonds to acquire necessary infrastructure.
The city has been monitoring PG&E's electrical infrastructure for some time, particularly since the company's 2019 bankruptcy. A previous offer of $2.5 billion for the company's infrastructure serving San Francisco was rebuffed, but the push for municipalization continues. Mission Local reported on the city's ongoing legal efforts to establish a fair valuation of PG&E's assets as a precursor to eminent domain. "Right now, literally and figuratively," former San Francisco Public Utilities Commission general manager Susan Leal told Mission Local, "this should be a fire sale."
On the other side of the coin, PG&E maintains that the obstruction is on the city's part, accusing San Francisco of failing to specifically identify the assets it desires to take over and not providing a clear grid separation plan. However, the city's blackouts and PG&E's record of maintenance issues and catastrophic events have painted a different picture for residents and officials alike. The SF Standard notes a CPUC report from 2024 showing increased outages and longer restoration times in San Francisco over the past decade, adding to the strain between the city and PG&E.
