Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer and PG&E CEO Patti Poppe have a discussion Thursday evening at the Fresno County Economic Development Corporation Real Estate Forecast. Photo via Dyer's Facebook page

During the Fresno County EDC Real Estate Forecast on Thursday, PG&E CEO Patti Poppe and Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer closed the night with a chat about infrastructure improvements, partnerships and ongoing efforts by the investor-owned utility to rebuild trust with residents and officials — all while facing public scrutiny over rates and profits.

Poppe, who took her position around the same time Dyer was sworn in as mayor, praised Dyer for their open lines of communication, although Poppe added Dyer has given her “holy hell” in the past.

It was around 2022 when the Building Industry Association of Fresno and Madera Counties called the energization backlog for development projects a “de facto moratorium on new home construction.” Without PG&E teams connecting projects to the grid, developers were left dead in the water.

Dyer said he received daily calls from developers with the same complaint.

Poppe said the reason for the delays came down to dollars and cents — PG&E had run out of money. In 2019, two years before Poppe took over as CEO, PG&E filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, citing financial liabilities resulting from wildfires in 2017 and 2018. It emerged from bankruptcy in 2020.

That picture is starting to change, as PG&E’s credit ratings improve and capital is easier to come by, Poppe said. Earlier this year, PG&E secured a $15 billion loan guarantee from the Department of Energy for grid modernization that could save customers up to $1 billion. 

Poppe stressed the importance of PG&E being profitable, which makes it easier to borrow money. She said only 3% of profits goes to investors, while 97% is reinvested into operations.

Dyer stated that electricity rates have increased around 56% over the last three years. Those are significant increases anywhere in California, but Dyer added that one in four Fresno families is below the poverty line. At the same time, PG&E increased its profits by 35%.

Dyer mentioned how families are faced with either putting food on the table or paying their energy bills. 

In an interview with The Business Journal after the event, Poppe explained why rates have risen.

“One of the biggest drivers of our bills going up was the need to harden our system to wildfire and other extreme weather, not just wildfire, but extreme rains, extreme winds, extreme snow up in the Sierras,” Poppe said. “We are building infrastructure, transforming our infrastructure so it’s fit for purpose. It’s an important investment to make, but that investment will have returns over decades to come while we continue to reduce the cost to maintain that equipment every single year.”

Poppe said rates for PG&E are forecast to be 3% lower in 2025 compared to a year ago. She also said that rates will also go down in 2026.

During the discussion, Dyer mentioned that he receives several calls from residents regarding their frustrations about the multiple rate hikes they receive each year.

Poppe mentioned that a marketing message of rates going down actually didn’t resonate with people during focus groups. They opted instead for price “stabilization.”

How will people trust their rates will fall?

“Proof is in the pudding. Right? When they get their bill, they need to see it going down. We’re going to work with customers to use energy more efficiently. We’re going to pass on all of our cost savings to customers so that they can better afford the energy that’s so vital, vital to their well-being,” Poppe said when asked about how PG&E can gain back the public’s trust with the rates decreasing.  

Even though the public perception of PG&E is negative, Poppe said she loves working with Fresno and is excited to continue working with Dyer and the city.

“Mayor Dyer holds us to a high standard, and we’ve worked hard to gain the trust of the city. We’ve worked hard to make sure that we’re serving the customers better every day, and we’re going to keep doing that,” Poppe said. “And my message to Fresno is we love being your service provider. We want you to trust and believe that PG&E can live up to your expectations. We know that we’ve got work to do to regain that trust, and we’re working every day to earn their trust.”