San Jose Mercury News Features PG&E Initiative, Local Power Inc.

Journalist Dana Hull of the San Jose Mercury News has published a great article on PG&E's efforts to block Community Choice in San Francisco, Marin, and dozens of other Northern California communities seeking to accelerate and scale up development of local renewable power.

"PG&E is spending millions of dollars on a statewide initiative that would make it tougher for local governments to purchase power from anyone else," the article reads. "The initiative, one of several appearing on the June 8 ballot, would require two-thirds approval from local voters before cities or counties could choose an alternate energy provider. PG&E says it merely wants to guarantee that taxpayers have a voice if their local governments decide to spend public dollars to get into the power business. But critics say the San Francisco-based utility is trying to sabotage communities eager to buy more power from renewable energy sources like wind and solar."

"PG&E has so far spent $6.5 million on the initiative, according to documents on the California Secretary of State's Web site, and has signalled it is prepared to spend millions more. It says money spent on the campaign comes from shareholder dollars but critics charge that customers are essentially footing the bill. "

Former California Energy Commissioner John Geesman is quoted: "There is not a nickel that passes through PG&E's books that doesn't ultimately derive from its customers," said on his "Green Energy War" blog.

To view the San Jose Mercury News article, click here.
To view recent press on Local Power and PG&E click here.