{"id":2228225,"date":"2024-04-23T14:47:01","date_gmt":"2024-04-23T18:47:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/california-utility-companies-avoid-crackdown-on-ad-spending-and-mishandling-of-funds\/"},"modified":"2024-04-23T14:51:36","modified_gmt":"2024-04-23T18:51:36","slug":"california-utility-companies-avoid-crackdown-on-ad-spending-and-mishandling-of-funds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/california-utility-companies-avoid-crackdown-on-ad-spending-and-mishandling-of-funds\/","title":{"rendered":"California utility firms evade regulation on advertising expenses and mismanagement of finances"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcalifornia-utility-companies-avoid-crackdown-on-ad-spending-and-mishandling-of-funds%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2228225&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>California lawmakers rejected \u200ba proposal to enhance\u200d oversight\u2063 of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/major-storm-expected-to-hit-east-coast-mid-atlantic\/\" title=\"Major storm expected to hit East Coast, Mid Atlantic\">utility companies<\/a>&#8216; spending in the state. Consumer groups highlighted\u2064 loopholes allowing companies to misuse customer funds for advertising and lobbying. The legislation aimed\u200b to address these issues by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fla-gov-desantis-unveils-statewide-bill-targeting-chinese-influence\/\" title=\"Fla. Gov. DeSantis unveils statewide bill targeting Chinese influence\">closing loopholes<\/a> \u200dand\u200d imposing fines on offenders. California legislators dismissed a\u200d plan to\u2064 improve monitoring \u200cof utility companies&#8217;\u2063 expenditures in the state. Consumer advocates flagged loopholes enabling companies to misappropriate customer \u2063funds\u2064 for ads \u200cand lobbying. \u200dThe law\u200d targeted closing these gaps and penalizing wrongdoers.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_78\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/california\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>California<\/a> lawmakers struck down a proposal on Monday that would have further <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/energy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>regulated<\/a> how utility companies spend money in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2971847\/right-leaning-california-cities-abandon-long-standing-alliance-political-differences\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>state<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/top-retail-ceos-call-on-congress-to-curb-online-sale-of-stolen-goods-amid-national-looting-sprees\/\" title=\"Top Retail CEOs Call on Congress to Curb Online Sale of Stolen Goods amid National Looting Sprees\">consumer groups<\/a>, utility companies are exploiting loopholes in rules surrounding illicit spending on advertising and lobbying with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sec-chair-plans-to-big-unveil-changes-after-ftx-implosion\/\" title=\"SEC Chair Plans to Big Unveil Changes After FTX Implosion\">customer money<\/a>. The new legislation would have worked toward closing those loopholes and levying fines on violators.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve seen too many examples of the blatant misuse of ratepayer funds across the state,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/california-lawmakers-rejects-bill-restrict-utilities-spend-customers-money\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>said<\/a> Democratic state Sen. Dave Min, who authored the bill that failed to pass on Monday. \u201cI know that consumers are outraged by this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Utility companies such as Pacific Gas &#038; Electric Company fiercely opposed the bill because it would \u201ctake away the power of state regulators to examine utility companies\u2019 costs and decide whether it is \u2018just or reasonable\u2019 for customers to pay for them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A PG&#038;E lobbyist told Fox News,\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s appropriate for customers to pay for the company\u2019s membership fees that go to various industry associations because they benefit customers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of benefits to customers,\u201d the lobbyist said.<\/p>\n<p>A rising cost of electricity prompted the bill as the work to maintain and upgrade power equipment has proven expensive amid wildfires.<\/p>\n<p>Matt Vespa, senior attorney at the environmental advocacy group Earthjustice, said Monday\u2019s vote was \u201cincredibly disappointing.\u201d He said the current rules for utilities \u201cincentivizes them to see what they can get away with.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Consumer groups said PG&#038;E has spent up to $6 million on ads featuring a plan to bury power lines to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/california-gov-newsom-signs-states-biggest-ever-15-billion-package-on-climate-change\/\" title=\"California Gov. Newsom Signs State\u2019s Biggest Ever  Billion Package on Climate Change\">reduce wildfire risk<\/a>, though it may raise consumers\u2019 bills. Consumer groups decried the moves as an \u201cattempt at brand rehabilitation\u201d in the guise of legal safety ad spending.<\/p>\n<p>While California has the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/home-improvement\/living\/monthly-utility-costs-by-state\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>most expensive <\/a>monthly water bill of any state at $77, it does not rank within the top five most expensive states for utilities. Alaska is the most expensive state for utilities.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>California lawmakers rejected a proposal aiming to tighten regulations on utility firms&#8217; spending. Consumer advocates warn of companies using customer funds for advertising and lobbying through legal gaps. The proposed law aimed to close these loopholes and impose penalties<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2228226,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/AP20078769509938.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2228225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/AP20078769509938.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2228225","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2228225"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2228225\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2228226"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2228225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2228225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2228225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}