The overspending has prompted an audit from the California Public Utilities Commission.
SDG&E officials have stated that the overspending occurred because the program was completely new and they did not have previous data to more effectively gauge the program’s budget.
An independent consultant must complete an audit of the program’s spending before the Commission will approve another phase in the plan.
Estela de Llanos, SDG&E’s vice president of Clean Transportation, Sustainability and chief environmental officer, has said that SDG&E has not, thus far, turned to ratepayers (customers) to repay the overspent $25 million.
“And if we do seek recovery of those costs,” de Llanos said, “We expect the (public utilities commission) to scrutinize that request. And any examination of that would be open and transparent. We’re not concerned with showing that or having it reviewed.”
SAN DIEGO (KUSI) – SDG&E’s electric vehicle charging pilot program, “Power Your Drive,” spent $25 million over the budget, prompting an audit from the California Public Utilities Commission.
While the company is now being instructed to investigate reasons for this overspending, SDG&E officials are not denying the figure, stating that the program was completely new.
The audit must be completed by an independent consultant before the Commission will approve another phase in the plan.
San Diego residents may be interested to know that the outstanding $25 million will not be repaid through ratepayers, but rather through their shareholder funds, according to Estela de Llanos, SDG&E’s vice president of Clean Transportation, Sustainability and chief environmental officer.
The Camp Fire rages through Paradise, Calif. , on Nov. 8, 2018. (AP file photo/Noah Berger)
SAN FRANCISCO (CN) California regulators on Thursday placed beleaguered utility Pacific Gas and Electric in the first stage of an enhanced oversight process that could lead to the state’s largest provider of power and natural gas losing its license to operate in California.
The California Public Utilities Commission unanimously approved a resolution to move PG&E into the first stage of a six-step enhanced oversight process, citing its failure to prioritize wildfire prevention work in areas that posed the greatest risk of fire last year.
Under the terms of AB 1054, the state law that bailed PG&E out of bankruptcy, utilities pre-certified as “safe” are not required to prove they acted reasonably to charge customers for the cost of the damage caused by the flames.
The safety certificate also gives PG&E the ability to tap into a multibillion-dollar state wildfire fund, paid for by customers, to help pay damages to fire victims and perhaps most importantly, it caps the amount of fire damage that PG&E shareholders would be on the hook for paying back to the fund.
After the 2018 Camp Fire, PG&E warned that it had caused around $30 billion in wildfire damage. It settled its bankruptcy for $25 billion.
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The California Public Utilities Commission on Thursday gave the green light to San Diego Gas & Electric, allowing the utility to proceed with a second round of its “Power Your Drive” program that will construct electric vehicle charging stations at sites across the region.
But the OK came with a few provisions, including a requirement that SDG&E pay for a third-party audit after the first phase of the project racked up cost overruns of $25 million.
Approving the extension “is a small but really essential step in ensuring California is prepared for rising electric vehicle charging demand, which we so much need to do,” commission President Marybel Batjer said just before the 5-0 vote.