California utility company uses unscrupulous political marketing techniques to raise bills – Orange County Register

Perhaps you have seen a PR campaign promoting the Nestlé company’s impressive sustainability track record. The company calls its water EcoShape, claims it uses 15% less plastic, and even urges consumers to recycle. The problem is that 98% of Nestlé products are sold using single-use plastic, and the company produces 1.7 million tonnes of plastic annually. The company is not as environmentally friendly as advertised. This deceptive climate marketing practice is called greenwashing, and we’re now seeing California power companies deploying similar tactics.

California has three monopoly electric utilities: PG&E, SoCal Edison, and SDG&E. We are all familiar with how our electricity bills go up every month and it becomes difficult to pay them. Just as Nestlé prides itself on its commitment to the environment while producing plastic, these power companies also use similar gaslighting techniques. They hire expensive PR and marketing firms to blind us with a popular but insidious strategy we call “equity laundering.”

Simply put, PG&E and other monopolistic utility companies tout policies that they claim are financially fair to low-income customers. But when you look at the details, these are just schemes designed to preserve the interests of Wall Street shareholders against the backdrop of working and middle-class families.

The best example is an “income-based fixed rate,” which adds a fee to your utility bill based on your income rather than your energy usage. When we first heard about this policy, we, like many advocates, thought, “Wow, that’s a progressive tax on utilities.” Ultimately, wealthy energy consumers will end up paying their fair share. ” Hey, we were wrong!

When we took a closer look at the so-called “income-based flat fee,” we were appalled. The policy was rotten from the beginning. First, the language was forced into a climate bill at the last minute by monopoly lobbyists, and the Public Utility Commission (which regulates the business) refused to grant any public hearings on the policy. Therefore, public transparency is to be condemned.

Then read a letter sent by 24 progressive energy economists to the CPUC that shows that not only is this policy not progressive, it actually harms millions of families living in tiny homes, condos, and apartments. He claimed to be giving. Families rely on energy savings to reduce their monthly utility bills. In other words, California’s working poor.

In reality, the so-called “fixed amount based on income” is nothing more than a utility bill for the working poor and middle class.

To fight back against monopolistic utility “stock laundering,” we have supported a coalition of more than 220 grassroots community organizations, including the California Environmental Justice Coalition, the California Retired Americans Alliance, and the Western Law Center. Poverty, the Center for Biological Diversity, Tenants Together, the Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Foundation, Catholic Charities, California Interfaith Light and Power – all advocate for real equity in our society. We do not advocate the interests of any Wall Street-traded company. Proprietary utility.