Tom Steyer: SF Blackout Shows Need to End Utility Monopolies

SAN FRANCISCO — Tom Steyer today released the following statement after a fire at a PG&E substation – the same substation that failed just days before Christmas in 2003 – caused massive power outages in San Francisco:

“Yesterday, 130,000 San Francisco households and small businesses lost power for hours. Thousands were left in the dark overnight, and many are still without electricity. It’s an unacceptable, yet predictable result of a broken system that allows utility monopolies to charge more and deliver less, year after year. These monopolies keep raising rates, their executives keep getting richer, and Californians keep paying the price. California needs a governor who will stand up to these monopolies, hold them accountable, and break them up.” 

Steyer has made lower electric bills a key pillar of his campaign – pledging to cut Californians’ bills by 25% by ending utility monopolies. Last week, he called on the CPUC to reject proposed profit increases for the state's utility companies and unveiled a new 30-second paid television and digital advertisement highlighting utility monopoly power and his plan to restore accountability to California's energy system.