PG&E CEO talks rising customer bills, wildfires and why the utility is now at a 'turning point'

SAN FRANCISCO - With PG&E's latest rate increase now in the hands of the California Public Utilities Commission, we wanted to ask PG&E's CEO the questions we're constantly asked by KTVU viewers. 

"PG&E is a turnaround story in the making," said CEO Patti Poppe, who was born in a small Michigan town; the daughter of a school principal and an engineer.

Poppe is a self-made executive who holds a business degree from Stanford and is the first woman to become CEO at one Fortune 500 firm and later, become CEO of another. She's been a utility executive for the last 20 years after working for 15 years at General Motors.

Five years ago, PG&E was in a financial, legal and consumer confidence disaster. And so, the Board of Directors said, "let's hire somebody to fix it." That person was Poppe. The CEO has now spent five years in her role, so we asked her some tough questions.

Rising PG&E bills

First and foremost, most customers feel PG&E's bills are way too high with no relief in site. 

"In a customer's bill today, $1 a month is for undergrounding. $20 a month is for vegetation management. We need to stop 'band-aiding' with trying to pick the next tree to fail and, instead, build infrastructure for the climate conditions in which we operate, which are getting more extreme," Poppe said.

Last Friday, she promised that the money is already working toward fire prevention and that bills will be flat at least through 2027. 

"Bills today, in 2025, are flat with 2024. We can hold bills flat while we make these necessary infrastructure investments to keep people safe," Poppe said.

Wildfires attributed to PG&E equipment had a devastating impact, causing insurance rates to skyrocket or become unavailable, which caused the home building, home sales and home financing markets to plummet. 

Wildfire devastation

What is PG&E doing about that?

"We know that the most important thing for PG&E to do is to make our system safer and reduce the risk exposure for customers," the CEO said. "I do believe the insurance will ultimately reflect that."

PG&E's recent ads – scripted or not?

We asked if PG&E's recent advertisements, showing concerned customers asking questions of PG&E employees were pre-scripted, coached or designed to tell the people what they want to hear?

"Those ads were not scripted. The customer was not scripted. My co-worker was not scripted," Poppe said. "We also want our customers to know that we're listening. We want them to know that we hear their feedback and their feedback makes us better."

PG&E's high prices have made solar and home battery companies so successful, that PG&E has lowered what it pays new solar customers, who did pay less for their excess ower, than early adopters. 

"So we want to make sure that we price right, the energy that's produced, whether it's from a rooftop or a hydro station of from a nuclear power plant; we want to make sure we're paying the right price for that power," she said.

Early adopters, who paid more for their systems, do get paid more. 

"Their incentive is maintained," said Poppe.

In the past five years, Poppe's annual income has averaged some $20 million, approved by PG&E's Board of Directors.  

We asked how the CEO she can have empathy with customers increasingly worried about paying their bills when PG&E is making billions in profits. 

"PG&E is turning around through the hard work and efforts of my co-workers," Poppe said. "We're transforming how we do work and we're passing those savings on to customers," she said.

READ: California bill could slash rooftop solar credits

‘Turning point’

Poppe also said she does not want to see PG&E turned into a government-owned utility. 

"Ninety-seven percent of those profit dollars go right back into the business. Our business model is designed to serve investors and customers," she said,

CEO Poppe knows full well, that bills must stabilize if she will be allowed to finish repairing the disaster she inherited and said, 

"I hope that people will, some day, look back at this as a turning point at PG&E and leadership makes a difference."

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