Energy Reports

California's Biggest Utilities: Victims of Deregulation, Or Victors? Money Spent by PG & E and Edison to Enact and Protect Deregulation, 1995-2000

1/4/2001

Executive Summary

As the new home of CALPIRG's environmental work, Environment California can be contacted with any questions regarding this report.

TOTAL EXPENDITURES INCLUDING CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS, LOBBYING EXPENDITURES AND CONTRIBUTIONS AGAINST PROP 9 1995- 2000

PG & E Corp and affiliates $25,718,222	Edison International and affiliates $28,026,925
for a combined total of $53,745,147

Lobbying Expenditures in California, 1995-2000
Cycle	Pacific Gas and Electric Corp & affiliates	Edison International & affiliates
95-96	$1,480,679	$2,125,701
97-98	$1,570,054	$2,556,123
99-00 (through 3/31/00)	$1,350,705	$1,734,258
Total	$4,401,438	$6,416,082
Source: Secretary of State files, "Top 100 Lobbying Expenditures Report."

Contributions to No on Prop 9 Campaign

Proposition 9, an initiative put on the ballot in 1998 by CALPIRG and others, would have changed the terms of AB 1890 to:

Stop extra charges to customers for the cost of nuclear power plants
Require a 20% (instead of a 10%) reduction in charges to electricity customers.
Not allow utilities to charge customers extra fees to pay for the bonds that were sold to help pay for the rate reduction.

Below are the amounts spent by the two utilities to defeat that initiative:

Edison International/Southern California Edison as of 12/31/98
$17,657,041

Pacific Gas & Electric as of 12/31/98
$17,392,850

Source: California Voter Foundation website, http://www.calvoter.org/voter/elections/archive/98general/followthemoney/.

Contributions by Pacific Gas and Electric Company and Edison International to California Political Campaigns 1995-2000
Cycle	Pacific Gas and Electric Corp & subsidiaries			Edison International & subsidiaries
	Direct	PAC	Total	Direct	PAC	Total
95-96	$83,095	$417,660	$500,755	$18,000	$622,226	$640,226
97-98	$1,431,657	$158,600	$1,590,257	$1,754,437	$12,000	$1,766,437
99-00	$1,824,822	$8,100	$1,832,922	$1,537,139	$10,000	$1,547,139
Total	$3,339,574	$584,360	$3,923,934	$3,309,576	$644,226	$3,953,802

Data from 1995 through 1999 was calculated from a database of contributions of $100 or more made to major party candidates for legislative and statewide office. The 1995-1999 data was compiled by Capitol Weekly from Form 490 filings, which the secretary of state requires of all candidates who raise at least $1,000.

The 2000 data was calculated from a database composed of the online filings of all candidates for statewide office who were required to file electronically. This data is available at the Secretary of State's website www.ss.ca.gov. The online data was compiled in part from the individual companies' Form 409 Major Donor and Independent Expenditure Committee Campaign Statement totals for the period 1/01/2000 through 6/30/2000. These totals were added to a sum of all reported online contributions above $100 made to candidates from 7/01/00 up until November 2000. Data from 1/1/00 to 6/30/00 includes independent expenditures. Data for independent expenditures was unavailable previous to 2000 filings and has not yet been released for the remaining periods of 2000. The 2000 data does not include contributions made to candidates who were not required to report online.

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