SAN FRANCISCO — State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, has introduced legislation aimed at reforming the regulatory process that governs cities seeking to leave Pacific Gas and Electric Co. and establish publicly owned utilities, arguing that the current system is plagued by delay and obstruction.
SB 875 would change procedures at the California Public Utilities Commission to streamline how local governments acquire utility infrastructure from investor-owned utilities. The measure is designed to “end PG&E’s delays in the process of local governments breaking up with private utilities to form publicly owned utilities” and allow cities to provide what supporters describe as more affordable and reliable energy service.
Wiener’s office points to cities such as Sacramento and Palo Alto, which operate public utilities and charge electricity rates around 50% lower than those paid by customers of private utilities like PG&E. Despite higher rates, customers in PG&E territory have faced repeated blackouts and service disruptions in recent months.
San Francisco began exploring an exit from PG&E in 2019, launching an effort to municipalize its electric system. A formal valuation proceeding was filed with the CPUC in July 2021. Although state law requires the commission to complete such proceedings within 18 months, the process has stretched to four and a half years.
A judge recently outlined the path forward for the next year, but Wiener contends the underlying process remains vulnerable to delay tactics.
“Under PG&E’s monopoly, San Franciscans are paying more for worse service. We should get a choice to leave this broken relationship, and SB 875 is a critical step to get there,” Wiener said.
“For decades, utilities like PG&E run by big investors have rigged our regulatory system to block cities’ attempts to break up with them and form public utilities. They are afraid that cities and municipalities can do what they do cheaper and better,” the Senator continue.
He noted, “They are right to be afraid — cities like Sacramento with public utilities pay around 50% less for electricity and receive better service than PG&E offers. They don’t deal with the same constant blackouts from poor maintenance, or the poor communication when blackouts happen. SB 875 will unrig the breakup process so that cities like San Francisco can get back on their feet and start delivering affordable, reliable energy to Californians.”
Recent outages in San Francisco have intensified criticism of PG&E’s performance. On Dec. 20, more than 130,000 PG&E customers in San Francisco lost power. Some residents were without electricity for up to three days.
According to Wiener’s office, PG&E failed to notify the city when the outage began, forcing local officials to contact the utility to determine what was happening. The company issued multiple estimates for when power would be restored that proved inaccurate, later attributing the faulty projections to poorly trained artificial intelligence tools. Resource centers for affected residents were also opened later than expected.
As of Jan. 7, 2026, San Francisco had experienced at least six power outages in less than a month. City officials reported that prolonged outages left residents with medical conditions stranded at home and businesses facing tens of thousands of dollars in losses from spoiled inventory and reduced holiday sales.
Wiener’s office has described San Francisco’s experience as part of a broader pattern. In 2018, PG&E equipment ignited the Camp Fire, the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history. Eighty-five people were killed, and PG&E later filed for bankruptcy as it faced mounting liabilities.
In recent years, investor-owned utilities across the state have sharply increased electricity rates as customers shoulder a growing share of wildfire-related costs. Between 2022 and 2025, PG&E raised rates by nearly 40%, according to Wiener’s office. California now has the second-highest electricity rates in the nation after Hawaii.
Public utilities have largely avoided those increases. Last month, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission reduced generation rates for its CleanPowerSF program by 20% to 25% to offset transmission rate hikes of 15% to 25% imposed by PG&E, resulting in slight decreases in many customers’ total bills.
SFPUC General Manager Dennis Herrera said, “we prioritize local families and businesses over shareholder profits.”
Local governments currently have the legal authority to pursue municipalization, but the process has been shaped by legislative changes adopted in 1992. According to Wiener’s office, PG&E and other investor-owned utilities successfully lobbied at that time to raise the burden on public entities seeking to acquire utility facilities, making acquisitions more difficult.
In addition, PG&E has urged the CPUC to adopt a broad scope of review in valuation proceedings. Wiener contends that expansive review has enabled the company to delay municipalization efforts for years.
Those delays are not unique to San Francisco. The South San Joaquin Irrigation District began pursuing municipalization in 2014. More than a decade later, it has made little progress amid prolonged procedural disputes at the CPUC, according to Wiener’s office.
SB 875 would reverse the 1992 statutory changes and reestablish what supporters call the historical standard requiring public entities to demonstrate that an acquisition serves the public interest. The bill would also clarify that CPUC review of a public purchase of utility infrastructure is limited to determining whether the transaction is fair and reasonable to affected public utility employees.
To address prolonged proceedings, the measure would impose enforceable timelines on CPUC review, with the aim of preventing excessive delays.
The bill now moves into the legislative committee process as lawmakers weigh whether California should make it easier for cities to leave investor-owned utilities and assume local control of their electric systems.
Follow the Vanguard on Social Media – X, Instagram and Facebook. Subscribe the Vanguard News letters. To make a tax-deductible donation, please visit davisvanguard.org/donate or give directly through ActBlue. Your support will ensure that the vital work of the Vanguard continues.
This is long overdue. There’s other changes, such as giving customers open access to the distribution network to sell power to their neighbors, that can also help lower rates. Most importantly, these tools give municipalities more leverage over PG&E in forcing lower rates and negotiating better interconnection terms.
I see that PG&E is raising all of the base rates for electricity delivery. It was a backdoor way to go after solar owners. It gets their foot in the door in order to raise those rates even higher in the future.