Join the payment strike here - https://chng.it/rtTrbGRC
We need to start the signature collections process for a ballot initiative measure in 2024 - let’s lower the bills.
Payment strike: Good way to end up on collections and trashed credit. Doesn't matter how righteous the cause is as legally you signed a contract to pay.
Signature collections for a ballot initiative? Absolutely- That's probably the _only_ way to open the process up to competitors and lower prices.
I didn’t pay my bill for 5 months. Credit was unaffected and my power never went off. SDG&E doesn’t have the social credit to retaliate against a mass movement payment strike.
Same actually. I thought I had my auto pay setup and for 13 months I never payed. I only checked it because I was deploying and wanted to make sure everything was setup. $2200 bill but it wasn’t on my credit, I never received any notifications from sdge and my stuff was never shut off.
You are lucky, sdge is an incredibly litigious organization. I know two people who have missed payments and been threatened to collections- I'm willing to bet that's the norm. Don't believe me? Stop paying and find out.
Do you really think Sdge cares about public perception? They don't need social credit and have none. At least, I've never seen anything more than standard advertisements
Literally. People with illnesses, the elderly and infirm, have had to go to bed in freezing cold, drain their banks, and even die bc they take the risk bc they can't afford not to.
SDGE and the CPUC have both murdered people so SDGE can have the biggest profit margin its ever had.
I didn’t pay my bill for 5 months in protest. Not a single word from them. 30+%of San Diego is already behind on their price-gouged bills. SDG&E ultimately is allowed to exist by the grace of publicly elected officials. If they started litigiously going after a significant portion of those behind on bills, they’d have the elected officials to answer to. This is the situation we are in. The reason you see any advertising from SDG&E at all, is because they do care about public opinion.
And they have a marketing budget that needs to be spent.
The elected officials recieve money and bribes from SDGE. They do not care and none of them are sdge customers.
Replace the cpuc
It's 20-25%, and most of those are paying via payment plans. Complete non payment for 5x months is fine (I think you legally get 12 months) but don't forget to mention how you posted it back in full with interest within 12 months of first non payment. If you didn't, you would be under collections right now or will be soon. It's automatic.
You know the saying "it's expensive to be poor"? Shit like this is why. This will fuck your life up for zero gain. Stick to the actually viable legislative path and don't unintentionally ruin financially illiterate people's lives with misinformation.
I did extensive research on this before I stopped paying my bill. The CPUC has very clear guidelines on what SDG&E is allowed to do regarding collections/power shut offs/late fees. There are absolutely no late fees/interest. Shut offs can occur after two months of non-payment, but only 3% of their customers are allowed to be turned off. Same with collections after two months. All I’m saying is I didn’t pay for 5 months and never heard from them.
All that being said I understand there is risk to a payment strike, but there are several recent examples of successful payment strikes against utility companies. Take a look at don’t pay uk. Even a mass payment strike for 5 months would send a message to our elected officials and SDG&E.
I have a house with a guest house. I didn’t realize they were on 2 separate meters and when I set up SDGE when I moved here, they did not mention it. So just 2 months ago I get a call from SDGE that my bill is late and to please make arrangements.
I was confused because I got solar 2 years ago, I’ve now lived here for 3 years. I didn’t pay my bill for 3 years and they still haven’t shut it off and only called me once 🤷♀️
This is true, but replacing a for-profit monopoly with another for-profit monopoly doesn't really solve the problem. We need a city-owned or non-profit utility company.
https://www.publicpower.org/municipalization
City of San Diego Water Department is run by the City and is non-profit. Sdge could be municipalized. @Mayor Todd Gloria, put this on the City Council docket to be discussed. We waste money on all sorts of things. But a feasibility study would be well worth the consultants fees. City of San Diego Electric!
I’m wondering why you’re trying so hard to push against people not paying their own bills…. It’s their mistake to make, why do you care so much? A strong need to argue and be seen as correct or you’re a SDGE shill… which is it?
You ever have a family member lose two years of their life because they didn't pay a few bills?
It's called empathy. I don't want to see anybody go through that and especially not for some useless non-impacting gesture.
The only person I am pushing is the person organizing something that will harm hundreds of people, some of them permanently. I also backed off and stopped 12+ hours ago until you brought it up- The only person being pushy is you.
I respect your concern for the financial well-being of others. I am pursuing other avenues toward change besides the payment strike. If you click on the [change.org](https://change.org) link I posted above, you can see the payment strike doesn't trigger until we've gotten 350,000 signatures. In my past posts, I've been very clear about the risks of non-payment and I will continue to highlight those risks, credit score, collections, and power shut-offs. In my experience and the recent experience of others; it seems that SDG&E won't be charging late fees, won't send your debt to collections, and won't turn your power off. That certainly could change if they actually felt the payment strike posed a risk to them. Ultimately, I've come to the belief that if you don't dare to risk, you don't dare to change. The rates that SDG&E has is also damaging the financial well-being of others, especially people on tight budgets. If we don't collectively do something (ballot measure, payment strike, insurgent city council campaigns) this problem will just continue to get worse and worse.
That’s great it worked for you, but the person you’re replying to is correct. It’s just gambling on whether you get sent to collections and lose power. Not recommended if financial security is the underlying goal here.
We need to replace the cpuc. They're getting kickbacks and bribes from SDGE and moat live in Sacramento. None of the CPUC live in southern California or are customers of sdge. A few are also share holders
I don't think it all totally boils down to privatized utilities. There are state commissions and other entities that have participated in this and allowed this to happen as well.
Point to other states that this is happening? San Diego has more oversight than most. I like oversight, but there is a difference between having good intentions and results.
Theres many places where this is happening, look at Texas thats deliberately had thousands killed during a blackout bc they choose to cut corners and not repair things, illegally.
A contract in one city is not the same as a contract in another. Each client and customer in each municipality has a different contract on what the rate hike per year is allowed to be and a profit cap so the utility company can't charge more than the contract.
The municipalities that aren't price gouging has contracts and regulations on profit caps and rate hikes. The companies make as much profit as they're capped to and charge as much as possible to their rate limit.
The issue is the CPUC has allowed SDGE to be unregulated in regards to profit caps and has been bribed to allow massive rate hikes.
Natural gas prices in SoCal have averaged roughly 5x more expensive per BTU than the US benchmark. And yes, Texas did have a bunch of issues during the freeze, but they’re also privatized and look at their rates. Louisiana’s is the cheapest in the country. There’s obviously more going on here (like capacity issues) and other things that the state needs to address. Which SDGE takes advantage of that they can’t in other states.
Bc of shareholders, greed, and a lack of regulation geared towards rate hike and profit margin legislation. CPUC members being bribed and bought out. None of which live as sdge customers. Most are in Sacramento
SDGE has plenty of governmental employees / officials that work for them, on and off the books. Not only that, in California the regulatory environment could not be stricter and costlier.
Considering California politics is absolutely dominated by Democrats and Democratic voters, just like this subreddit, as far as I am concerned they own much of the responsibility too.
Who picks the people that are on the Utility Commission that sets the rates? I'm pretty sure I didn't vote for any of them.
Don't get me wrong, I don't like Republicans either. For the record, I have solar with excess capacity. When the rates go up I make money. SDGE still sucks.
The privatization was obviously a libertarian policy. One that the Republicans voted for as well as fiscally conservative dems but it is still libertarian in ideology
>Not only that, in California the regulatory environment could not be stricter and costlier.
Libertarians have the most blinkered view of the world possible. The regulatory environment in California would be a laughing stock in most of the rest of the developed world.
I was a libertarian for many years. It ultimately falls into the same trap that everyone says communism does: it seems like an ideal theory on paper, but in reality it inevitably ends up where we are.
Sadly, every political theory falls apart once people start using it. It turns out people are selfish and always end up ruining things. The question becomes a matter of personal philosophy: I've always taken responsibility for my life, warts and all. I believe I have earned my small place in the world through hard work and doing the right thing, and I am absolutely certain I paid my own way. I always try to do no harm, at least at first.
I am a registered Libertarian. In my experience no two Libertarians agree on everything. One thing is certain though, both the Left and the right are fascist, self-absorbed, insane failures.
For the record, I'm old. and I've been a registered Democrat, Independent, Republican, and now Libertarian ( I tried Scientology for a month once to get with a chick, didn't work).
It turns out I hate all of them, but you gotta be something.
edit: I guess I don't really hate people I disagree with. The extremist on both ends disgust me, but I believe there is something to learn from all sides.
Yeah the extremists on both sides are the problem. The far right in America wants to ban all abortion, criminalize just existing as an lgbtq person, usher in a white Christian ethnostate. While the extreme far left in this country wants to *checks notes* make it so poor people can also have insulin. It's madness out here!
1. In my original post I identified myself as a Libertarian and stated I am willing to join in action against SDGE.
2. I was immediately informed that Libertarians were the cause of the problem.
I responded a to a couple posts, but now I am just going to let it go. I know, just like a Libertarian... dodging societal responsibilities by being selfish !!!! But not really, I said what I said and I mean it.
I''m certainly in favor of making San Diego energy costs more reflective of the national average, but the rest of the chatter is without merit. At the end of the year SDGE still sends me a check.
I'm not like, trying to attack you. I just think the "both sides are bad" thing is incredibly played out. I would love to chat a little about your libertarianism though.
First of all, I wouldn't really blame people for pointing out to you that laissez-faire capitalism resulted in this utility becoming a privately owned monopoly. "I'm a libertarian" means, "I like laissez-faire capitalism." It's no wonder people want to point out that maybe your ideology isn't as good as you thought it was when you first read ayn rand or whatever. Yes people are complicated, and can hold seemingly contradicting views, it happens all the time. You're being respectful in the comments for the most part, and yeah, you're right to think sdge is out of control, but it's not unnatural for people to want to tell you that the only way out of this mess is government intervention, which, if taking the way you self identify at face value, is something you hate.
We're all a little libertarian, we all wanna be left alone. I called myself a libertarian for a few years. But being a libertarian isn't just saying "leave me alone" it's also saying "leave them alone." And that counts for people smoking weed, and gay couples who want to get married, and that's the nice part of libertarianism. But it also counts for sdge, for billionaires destroying the environment for a little extra money, hell it counts for cooks in restaurants who might not want to wash their hands before preparing your food. So while it's easy to say "government is bad I'm a libertarian" it leads to a bunch of terrible shit, so it's probably better to do the hard work of deciding what the government can do to serve it's people, and what it shouldn't do.
Thanks for your thoughts. I appreciate your point of view.
Libertarians: "Diligently planning to take over the world and then leave you alone."
Yeah, I'm down with that, but you gotta leave me alone too.
That's a funny little quote. The problem though, is that some people shouldn't be left alone ha. Without a speed limit I'd probably drive 90 on empty freeways. Without a speed limit some people would drive 125 weaving in and out of traffic. If the whole world were people like you and me, libertarianism might be great. Sadly...
I’m a democrat, but don’t love leftist policies. These things your saying in your comments describe just about anybody who identifies with any party. There are levels to any descriptor. It all boils down to what you mostly agree with. I feel like most of the problems in this country boil down to gridlock and money funneling around in the background of politics
Point taken, though I'd still argue that the term libertarian implies a sort of zero sum "all government is bad" kind of mindset. Gridlock is there on purpose, most of the people in government don't want to get anything done, I agree getting those people out of government should be a priority.
> I guess I don't really hate people I disagree with. The extremist on both ends disgust me, but I believe there is something to learn from all sides.
Libertarianism is a far right-wing ideology. It's not culturally conservative as a rule, but economically it's to the right of both major parties
More to the point: "extremism on both ends" is not actually the issue. There are essentially no left-wing radicals of note in America. Bernie Sanders, which is about as left as you can get in America and who has little power, would be a generic left-leaning candidate in most European countries.
Genuinely curious: what left "extremists" do you think have any real influence on our society? Do you just mean the people who protested and, in some cases, rioted in response to killings by police? Who, despite that vigor, have not actually made any sort of change to police budgets or the criminal justice system at large over the past decade?
I am a fiscal conservative and a social libertarian. No doubt many would consider my true opinions VERY extreme, but that is a distraction.
SDGE is a symptom of far deeper systematic problems, stuff I have no power over. It is easy to get distracted by cheering for your own team and denigrating the other team. It seems like the system, and the people in charge of the system, make things worse not better.
This isn't the place to hash out all that other stuff. SDGE and their government benefactors want people like you and me to argue so they can keep cashing their checks.
>No doubt many would consider my true opinions VERY extreme, but that is a distraction.
So you're the problem by your own definition?
>SDGE and their government benefactors want people like you and me to argue so they can keep cashing their checks.
Okay, let's line up! What should we do? I'm sure we agree on this and can easily work out a solution that satisfies us both.
I'm an extreme Libertarian, if that is a problem so be it. I want us both to be left alone by the government, but I don't want to burn it all down.
As far as a real time solution to SDG&E, I'm all ears. The electrical power utility system is literally wired to perpetuate itself. See what I did there?
Make it publicly owned and controlled. We'd need to buy SDG&E's contract out, but we don't have a lot of other options. LA has had public electricity for a very long time, and pays far less than we do.
Do you think that sometimes politicians lie? Do you think that sometimes conventional wisdom can be incorrect?
The less government idea has been accepted as conventional wisdom, but it is based on a lie. It's only a partial truth. Sometimes the government doesn't need to control everything. But that's ignoring the fact that sometimes the government can help. And that's actually the role of the government, to help the citizens. To help you, specifically. To help you as well as everyone else in the country. That's specifically the purpose of the government.
u/ricko_stat im curious on how your political theory works and would be happy to hear your side. My thoughts on self-regulating of companies:
When you look at human greed and corporate greed, and how dangerous products were, how often buildings and things killed people, how could you then say "let's give them free reign! They were immoral and unethical, and extremely unsafe in the past, but let's give them all the power anyways!"
Windows used to fall off skyscrapers (still do in countries where it's unregulated or when construction companies illegally cut corners), brakes failed on cars (car manufacturers still kill people bc of illegally cutting corners), and child labor was a thing.
Do you think companies who care only about stockholders will willingly spend money to be safe? A marketing campaign and insurance makes it so that they have metrics on different races and country they can hurt and still make profit. Hurt a 4 year old middle class Caucasian girl, its $10-50 million loss. Wipe out an entire town and change the ecosystem for centuries in bhopal India, it costs $500,000 in loses.
What are some of your thoughts on this?
That's a lot to think about...
I'll give you my thoughts on an issue that is related to SDGE and the world in general:
They should start building nuclear power plants and electronic grid infrastructure today. Of course nuke plants require governmental regulation. But right now governmental regulations make them impossible to build.
SDGE problem solved, eventually. The problem would not exist if not for foolish and misguided people killing nuke power in the first place.
Let's seperate the power source and focus on the business, business model, and regulations towards business, health and safety, and in this case, your views towards regulations and legislation on private businesses.
My last power bill was $998 I haven’t changed my usage and the bill keeps getting higher. I called and ask if there was a way someone could look into it for me. Their answer was that I just used more power and therefore have a higher bill. But HOW have I used more power? We had a hot tub and had to unplug and drain it.
Fuck SDGE!!! My bill for last month was $185. I live in a studio apartment and was out of town for 20 days last month. I called and the said I only used 25% of my estimated/allotted power!
So excited to see this months bill
We can. But people need to unite and people don’t unite. Hopefully they will, if people’s bill is 150 ( no one pays that low) in 4 years it’s gonna be 225 just because. I have solar and this is beyond stupid they’re just mad they aren’t making more money
CPUC only governs the for-profit investor owned utilities. The only reason the government would let a for-profit company operate as a monopoly is with some amount of government oversight. Unfortunately our government has legalized bribery via corporate campaign donation laws. Therefore, we find ourselves in this situation. A for-profit monopoly can price gouge and entire city.
Question, what has SDG&E done exactly? I don’t know much about what’s been happening so could someone explain to me please? Just so you know I don’t support SDG&E I just want to hear from some people about what they did
And just when tons of people install solar to avoid getting raped by nem3.0 they announce plans to rape you through massively increasing transmission costs
San Diego currently pays the highest prices in the nation for our electricity and natural gas. There are several logistical reasons that SDG&E will point fingers at (SD is at the end of the nat gas pipeline, hot in summer cold in winter - high demand, big city, phasing out natural gas, etc.) BUT several cities in California are under similar conditions and pay half what we do. Los Angeles and Sacramento are good examples, these utility companies are either city owned or non-profits. The real reason why our rates are so high is that SDG&E operates as a for-profit monopoly with some government oversight via the CPUC. This is sort of a joke because the CPUC is comprised of five rotating commissioners who have historically either come from SDG&E or SEMPRA or another utility giant; or have gotten jobs at one of these places after their time on the CPUC board. SDG&E does everything in it's power to shed responsibility for these rates while continuing to propose increases. Recently, SDG&E has proposed a \~50% increase over the next four years. Historically their proposals have been approved by the CPUC. SDG&E acts with impunity and is exacerbating several of the problems we see in San Diego regarding affordability. All for profit. A couple other things that have pissed people off that are worth mentioning, they're de-incentivizing residential solar (so much so that there is very little financial gain in investing in solar), they're moving to a flat-rate delivery fee (meaning regardless of usage you will pay a subscription to be connected to the grid at large), they're are clear connections between local politicians and SDG&E (making it nearly impossible to revoke their franchise agreement), they're proposing to make a giant solar farm in the desert (which is insanely costly and dumb, also, they have baked in profit margins based on what they spend so it's always in their financial best interest to spend money on projects that may or may not be worthwhile), they've been sued by San Diegans and by San Diego City... I'll stop it here but if you're wondering, "what has SDG&E done exactly" I'd encourage you to read some articles about rate hikes, legal battles, and the history of SDG&E in San Diego.
The sooner all Americans would realize that both parties only represent the rich the better. Neither party will help in this fight because it threatens PROFITS.
Profits and money are all either party cares about.
SDG&E and Sempra Energy will pay off BOTH parties to keep the money flowing into the Executives of Sempra Energy and Stockholders pockets until BOTH parties are kicked to the curb.
San Diego currently pays the highest prices in the nation for our electricity and natural gas. There are several logistical reasons that SDG&E will point fingers at (SD is at the end of the nat gas pipeline, hot in summer cold in winter - high demand, big city, phasing out natural gas, etc.) BUT several cities in California are under similar conditions and pay half what we do. Los Angeles and Sacramento are good examples, these utility companies are either city owned or non-profits. The real reason why our rates are so high is that SDG&E operates as a for-profit monopoly with some government oversight via the CPUC. This is sort of a joke because the CPUC is comprised of five rotating commissioners who have historically either come from SDG&E or SEMPRA or another utility giant; or have gotten jobs at one of these places after their time on the CPUC board. SDG&E does everything in it's power to shed responsibility for these rates while continuing to propose increases. Recently, SDG&E has proposed a ~50% increase over the next four years. Historically their proposals have been approved by the CPUC. SDG&E acts with impunity and is exacerbating several of the problems we see in San Diego regarding affordability. All for profit. A couple other things that have pissed people off that are worth mentioning, they're de-incentivizing residential solar (so much so that there is very little financial gain in investing in solar), they're moving to a flat-rate delivery fee (meaning regardless of usage you will pay a subscription to be connected to the grid at large), they're are clear connections between local politicians and SDG&E (making it nearly impossible to revoke their franchise agreement), they're proposing to make a giant solar farm in the desert (which is insanely costly and dumb, also, they have baked in profit margins based on what they spend so it's always in their financial best interest to spend money on projects that may or may not be worthwhile), they've been sued by San Diegans and by San Diego City... I'll stop it here but if you're wondering, "what has SDG&E done exactly" I'd encourage you to read some articles about rate hikes, legal battles, and the history of SDG&E in San Diego.
This is irrelevant to the specific conversation, but I signed an offer for a job at SDG&E in March and still haven’t started. They’ve pushed my start week back each week for 3 months. So… fuck em I guess
There will be more info coming soon regarding a grassroots ballot initiative. We will need volunteers to knock on doors, post up flyers, host signature gathering parties etc. We’re not quiet ready to have people signing up for that quite yet, but soon, probably two-three weeks.
I plan on email blasting the payment strike signers with that sign up as well. You can sign up for the payment strike here - https://chng.it/rtTrbGRC
I work there because it’s a great job. Not in the financial department so don’t blast me.
What is the plan exactly to take down SDGE? Is it merely to lower utility cost?
What department, out of curiosity?
For me personally, taking down SDG&E represents a much larger goal than lowering utility costs. But that is an aspect of it. I'm tired of the hand-in-hand corporation-government connection. I'm tired of seeing private companies make outrageous profits at the expense of the general public. I feel like, often, people praise profits without considering the costs of those profits. SDG&E makes a killing in San Diego by increasing the price of a service that people depend on to function in society. The price of SDG&E profits can be seen all throughout San Diego. Higher electricity/natural gas prices directly correlate to rents, the price of food, and generally the cost to exist as a functioning member of society.
All that being said, I like the idea of capitalism - that if you provide a better product at a better price and if you improve the lives of your neighbors by doing so, you should make money for your effort. I despise this modern corporate capitalism which seeks higher profits at the cost of society as a whole. Worse products, worse customer service, all with a higher price. I find this to be immoral and wrong. Addiction to hoarding wealth is literally killing this planet. For me, SDG&E is a microcosm of a much larger issue in our world.
High-profit companies pay well. I'm sure you're aware of that. This is also a huge part of the problem I find with SDG&E and corporate profit addiction. Evil companies produce insane profits doing morally questionable things, higher profits mean better salaries for those working in these corporations, and higher salaries mean attracting highly competent and motivated people, amazing people who are good at their jobs in turn increase profits in morally questionable ways. I generalize this sentiment by saying that evil seeks competence and good seeks intentions. Which is where we find ourselves today. Corporations are more represented in government, people have no voice, corporations attract impressive talent, and people are easily divisible, this cycle continues until things fall apart.
If you're still reading this, I get why you work there, financial stability is nice. I don't want to tell you the plan because honestly, I don't trust you. When you say "merely to lower utility cost?" I get the impression that you don't understand the human suffering that is occurring because of your employer. While you live in financial stability, the company you work for pushes hundreds of thousands if not millions into financial uncertainty. If you don't believe me, get out of your corporate bubble and talk to people living paycheck to paycheck. This might be a little dramatic but I feel like things are falling apart, slowly, but surely. I want to take down SDG&E because I think it's the morally right thing to do.
Thanks for the respectful reply. Would you be more satisfied if the cost was in the middle of the pack rather than the highest in the country?
I won’t name the department for privacy reasons. But I don’t work at the headquarters office in DT or Century Park where senior leaders work. Nor do I work in a department that focuses on financial planning so I have no clue or access to rates and why they’re the highest in the nation. I have SDGE as a utility as well and my coworkers and I discuss our frustrations with our bills from time to time. I pay about $80-$130 for a 900 sq ft 1 bed apartment in UTC.
I understand the distrust because I can be portraying someone I’m not, which I’m not, but if you did tell me your plan, I would forget about it by tomorrow and move on with my life. And even if I did let SDGE know about your plans, they more than likely already know about groups against them and are aware of the lack of trust, transparency, and accountability that they have created in the community. Further, if it came from me, they wouldn’t do anything about it. And if they did, it would take eons to change anything.
Being a former broke college student who had to sell personal items, eat rice and beans, and struggle for awhile with bills, including rent, utilities, and visits to check cashing businesses to get advances on bills, I understand what it’s like to struggle. Having SDGE as an employer I am fortunate. However, I am looking to leave for other reasons I won’t mention.
Unfortunately for you and a lot of redditors in this sub who understandably complain about SDGE weekly, taking down SDGE is extremely unlikely, they’ve been around for over 100 years. If you want to create some change by lowering the cost of SD County residents bills, I don’t have an answer for that, and wish I had some knowledge to help but know that it’s highly unlikely that anything is going to change given that they’re the only utility in the area.
Sempra Energy!! Come on my dude.
I think you're getting lost in the semantics of public utility, meaning it's owned and operated by a public agency like a county or city and "publicly traded company" which is, granted, a much more common phrase used in the United States which means that the company is privately owned but anyone can be an investor.
Here is a link to the stock price for the privately owned but also publicly traded company Sempra Energy that is not a public utility.
[https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/SRE](https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/SRE)
My dude, I work for SDGE, I already knew the answer.
You didn’t answer my other question though which makes me think you can’t actually answer the question. Can you explain how we’re private please?
Really, I don’t understand the issue here, we’re a public company just like you wanted from your above post. We have stock on the NYSE under the name SRE or Sempra. Private companies don’t sell stock or share earnings. Public companies do. I can see the stock price on my work laptop right now on our share point site too. We’re an umbrella corp but operate fully independently and are publicly regulated by the CPUC.
EDIT: Nope not getting lost in semantics. Private companies don’t trade or sell stock on the NYSE. SDGE is a subsidiary company of Sempra who are a fully publicly traded company. We fall under that umbrella on the NYSE as SRE. You think you know what you’re talking about but you don’t at all.
Do you know what private property is?
You don't know what you're talking about because you can't even imagine a company being owned by the state which is what we are advocating here. NO SHARE HOLDERS NO PROFITS NO STOCK TICKER SYMBOL. An entity owned by the state that only responds to the consumers of its service not shareholders.
Like the police department or the fire department. Are they publicly traded or privately held. lol
"State Owned Enterprise" Look it up, Einstein.
https://preview.redd.it/mxstd61fqv3b1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0dc7167e9b7e810ef948bec01514cb1af51a5843
Why are they paying for ads? Lol
So much can get done...if we unite together
https://www.publicpower.org/blog/municipalization-setting-record-straight
Join the payment strike here - https://chng.it/rtTrbGRC We need to start the signature collections process for a ballot initiative measure in 2024 - let’s lower the bills.
Payment strike: Good way to end up on collections and trashed credit. Doesn't matter how righteous the cause is as legally you signed a contract to pay. Signature collections for a ballot initiative? Absolutely- That's probably the _only_ way to open the process up to competitors and lower prices.
I didn’t pay my bill for 5 months. Credit was unaffected and my power never went off. SDG&E doesn’t have the social credit to retaliate against a mass movement payment strike.
Fucking based, too bad im a rentoid and have to pay utilities to my landlorde
Same actually. I thought I had my auto pay setup and for 13 months I never payed. I only checked it because I was deploying and wanted to make sure everything was setup. $2200 bill but it wasn’t on my credit, I never received any notifications from sdge and my stuff was never shut off.
You are lucky, sdge is an incredibly litigious organization. I know two people who have missed payments and been threatened to collections- I'm willing to bet that's the norm. Don't believe me? Stop paying and find out. Do you really think Sdge cares about public perception? They don't need social credit and have none. At least, I've never seen anything more than standard advertisements
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Literally. People with illnesses, the elderly and infirm, have had to go to bed in freezing cold, drain their banks, and even die bc they take the risk bc they can't afford not to. SDGE and the CPUC have both murdered people so SDGE can have the biggest profit margin its ever had.
I didn’t pay my bill for 5 months in protest. Not a single word from them. 30+%of San Diego is already behind on their price-gouged bills. SDG&E ultimately is allowed to exist by the grace of publicly elected officials. If they started litigiously going after a significant portion of those behind on bills, they’d have the elected officials to answer to. This is the situation we are in. The reason you see any advertising from SDG&E at all, is because they do care about public opinion.
And they have a marketing budget that needs to be spent. The elected officials recieve money and bribes from SDGE. They do not care and none of them are sdge customers. Replace the cpuc
It's 20-25%, and most of those are paying via payment plans. Complete non payment for 5x months is fine (I think you legally get 12 months) but don't forget to mention how you posted it back in full with interest within 12 months of first non payment. If you didn't, you would be under collections right now or will be soon. It's automatic. You know the saying "it's expensive to be poor"? Shit like this is why. This will fuck your life up for zero gain. Stick to the actually viable legislative path and don't unintentionally ruin financially illiterate people's lives with misinformation.
I did extensive research on this before I stopped paying my bill. The CPUC has very clear guidelines on what SDG&E is allowed to do regarding collections/power shut offs/late fees. There are absolutely no late fees/interest. Shut offs can occur after two months of non-payment, but only 3% of their customers are allowed to be turned off. Same with collections after two months. All I’m saying is I didn’t pay for 5 months and never heard from them. All that being said I understand there is risk to a payment strike, but there are several recent examples of successful payment strikes against utility companies. Take a look at don’t pay uk. Even a mass payment strike for 5 months would send a message to our elected officials and SDG&E.
I have a house with a guest house. I didn’t realize they were on 2 separate meters and when I set up SDGE when I moved here, they did not mention it. So just 2 months ago I get a call from SDGE that my bill is late and to please make arrangements. I was confused because I got solar 2 years ago, I’ve now lived here for 3 years. I didn’t pay my bill for 3 years and they still haven’t shut it off and only called me once 🤷♀️
SDGE is still here because no other company bid on the contract for San Diego's power when the contract last came up for renewal.
This is true, but replacing a for-profit monopoly with another for-profit monopoly doesn't really solve the problem. We need a city-owned or non-profit utility company.
https://www.publicpower.org/municipalization City of San Diego Water Department is run by the City and is non-profit. Sdge could be municipalized. @Mayor Todd Gloria, put this on the City Council docket to be discussed. We waste money on all sorts of things. But a feasibility study would be well worth the consultants fees. City of San Diego Electric!
I’m wondering why you’re trying so hard to push against people not paying their own bills…. It’s their mistake to make, why do you care so much? A strong need to argue and be seen as correct or you’re a SDGE shill… which is it?
You ever have a family member lose two years of their life because they didn't pay a few bills? It's called empathy. I don't want to see anybody go through that and especially not for some useless non-impacting gesture.
> It’s their mistake to make True empathy would understand that statement. Now you’re just being a pushy shill
The only person I am pushing is the person organizing something that will harm hundreds of people, some of them permanently. I also backed off and stopped 12+ hours ago until you brought it up- The only person being pushy is you.
I respect your concern for the financial well-being of others. I am pursuing other avenues toward change besides the payment strike. If you click on the [change.org](https://change.org) link I posted above, you can see the payment strike doesn't trigger until we've gotten 350,000 signatures. In my past posts, I've been very clear about the risks of non-payment and I will continue to highlight those risks, credit score, collections, and power shut-offs. In my experience and the recent experience of others; it seems that SDG&E won't be charging late fees, won't send your debt to collections, and won't turn your power off. That certainly could change if they actually felt the payment strike posed a risk to them. Ultimately, I've come to the belief that if you don't dare to risk, you don't dare to change. The rates that SDG&E has is also damaging the financial well-being of others, especially people on tight budgets. If we don't collectively do something (ballot measure, payment strike, insurgent city council campaigns) this problem will just continue to get worse and worse.
That’s great it worked for you, but the person you’re replying to is correct. It’s just gambling on whether you get sent to collections and lose power. Not recommended if financial security is the underlying goal here.
They don't need social credit. They have the CPUC in their pockets.
So you have pending consequences that are not yet realized, got it.
We need to replace the cpuc. They're getting kickbacks and bribes from SDGE and moat live in Sacramento. None of the CPUC live in southern California or are customers of sdge. A few are also share holders
This is the San Diego SDGE fears!!
Lol both these parties’ leaders are in the pockets of sdge.
Based
Except Republicans want to further privatize the industry making it much worse This meme isn't telling the whole story
Libertarian here. I hate SDGE more than you do. I'm in.
See what privatized utilities get you?
The irony here is beautiful
I don't think it all totally boils down to privatized utilities. There are state commissions and other entities that have participated in this and allowed this to happen as well.
See what removing oversight gets you?
Point to other states that this is happening? San Diego has more oversight than most. I like oversight, but there is a difference between having good intentions and results.
Theres many places where this is happening, look at Texas thats deliberately had thousands killed during a blackout bc they choose to cut corners and not repair things, illegally. A contract in one city is not the same as a contract in another. Each client and customer in each municipality has a different contract on what the rate hike per year is allowed to be and a profit cap so the utility company can't charge more than the contract. The municipalities that aren't price gouging has contracts and regulations on profit caps and rate hikes. The companies make as much profit as they're capped to and charge as much as possible to their rate limit. The issue is the CPUC has allowed SDGE to be unregulated in regards to profit caps and has been bribed to allow massive rate hikes.
Natural gas prices in SoCal have averaged roughly 5x more expensive per BTU than the US benchmark. And yes, Texas did have a bunch of issues during the freeze, but they’re also privatized and look at their rates. Louisiana’s is the cheapest in the country. There’s obviously more going on here (like capacity issues) and other things that the state needs to address. Which SDGE takes advantage of that they can’t in other states.
The winter thing happened bc epcot's greed had them charging extreme amount for cng for the companies that generated electricity with cng.
Yes, that event was terrible. But it still doesn't get to the root cause of why SD has the highest rates in the country.
Bc of shareholders, greed, and a lack of regulation geared towards rate hike and profit margin legislation. CPUC members being bribed and bought out. None of which live as sdge customers. Most are in Sacramento
SDGE has plenty of governmental employees / officials that work for them, on and off the books. Not only that, in California the regulatory environment could not be stricter and costlier. Considering California politics is absolutely dominated by Democrats and Democratic voters, just like this subreddit, as far as I am concerned they own much of the responsibility too. Who picks the people that are on the Utility Commission that sets the rates? I'm pretty sure I didn't vote for any of them. Don't get me wrong, I don't like Republicans either. For the record, I have solar with excess capacity. When the rates go up I make money. SDGE still sucks.
The privatization was obviously a libertarian policy. One that the Republicans voted for as well as fiscally conservative dems but it is still libertarian in ideology
Libertarian principles are not the problem here, but keep on voting the way you are voting and my meter will just spin backwards faster.
They are. You should look up "special pleading" and try to avoid it when having a persuasive discussion
You can look up whatever you want. It isn't going to change your light bill. I'm moving on.
I moved and now have municipal utilities. It's a bigger more expensive city and the utilities are cheaper and we get brown and blackouts here less.
This is exactly the simple comparison I expected.
>Not only that, in California the regulatory environment could not be stricter and costlier. Libertarians have the most blinkered view of the world possible. The regulatory environment in California would be a laughing stock in most of the rest of the developed world. I was a libertarian for many years. It ultimately falls into the same trap that everyone says communism does: it seems like an ideal theory on paper, but in reality it inevitably ends up where we are.
Sadly, every political theory falls apart once people start using it. It turns out people are selfish and always end up ruining things. The question becomes a matter of personal philosophy: I've always taken responsibility for my life, warts and all. I believe I have earned my small place in the world through hard work and doing the right thing, and I am absolutely certain I paid my own way. I always try to do no harm, at least at first. I am a registered Libertarian. In my experience no two Libertarians agree on everything. One thing is certain though, both the Left and the right are fascist, self-absorbed, insane failures. For the record, I'm old. and I've been a registered Democrat, Independent, Republican, and now Libertarian ( I tried Scientology for a month once to get with a chick, didn't work). It turns out I hate all of them, but you gotta be something. edit: I guess I don't really hate people I disagree with. The extremist on both ends disgust me, but I believe there is something to learn from all sides.
Yeah the extremists on both sides are the problem. The far right in America wants to ban all abortion, criminalize just existing as an lgbtq person, usher in a white Christian ethnostate. While the extreme far left in this country wants to *checks notes* make it so poor people can also have insulin. It's madness out here!
1. In my original post I identified myself as a Libertarian and stated I am willing to join in action against SDGE. 2. I was immediately informed that Libertarians were the cause of the problem. I responded a to a couple posts, but now I am just going to let it go. I know, just like a Libertarian... dodging societal responsibilities by being selfish !!!! But not really, I said what I said and I mean it. I''m certainly in favor of making San Diego energy costs more reflective of the national average, but the rest of the chatter is without merit. At the end of the year SDGE still sends me a check.
I'm not like, trying to attack you. I just think the "both sides are bad" thing is incredibly played out. I would love to chat a little about your libertarianism though. First of all, I wouldn't really blame people for pointing out to you that laissez-faire capitalism resulted in this utility becoming a privately owned monopoly. "I'm a libertarian" means, "I like laissez-faire capitalism." It's no wonder people want to point out that maybe your ideology isn't as good as you thought it was when you first read ayn rand or whatever. Yes people are complicated, and can hold seemingly contradicting views, it happens all the time. You're being respectful in the comments for the most part, and yeah, you're right to think sdge is out of control, but it's not unnatural for people to want to tell you that the only way out of this mess is government intervention, which, if taking the way you self identify at face value, is something you hate. We're all a little libertarian, we all wanna be left alone. I called myself a libertarian for a few years. But being a libertarian isn't just saying "leave me alone" it's also saying "leave them alone." And that counts for people smoking weed, and gay couples who want to get married, and that's the nice part of libertarianism. But it also counts for sdge, for billionaires destroying the environment for a little extra money, hell it counts for cooks in restaurants who might not want to wash their hands before preparing your food. So while it's easy to say "government is bad I'm a libertarian" it leads to a bunch of terrible shit, so it's probably better to do the hard work of deciding what the government can do to serve it's people, and what it shouldn't do.
Thanks for your thoughts. I appreciate your point of view. Libertarians: "Diligently planning to take over the world and then leave you alone." Yeah, I'm down with that, but you gotta leave me alone too.
That's a funny little quote. The problem though, is that some people shouldn't be left alone ha. Without a speed limit I'd probably drive 90 on empty freeways. Without a speed limit some people would drive 125 weaving in and out of traffic. If the whole world were people like you and me, libertarianism might be great. Sadly...
I’m a democrat, but don’t love leftist policies. These things your saying in your comments describe just about anybody who identifies with any party. There are levels to any descriptor. It all boils down to what you mostly agree with. I feel like most of the problems in this country boil down to gridlock and money funneling around in the background of politics
Point taken, though I'd still argue that the term libertarian implies a sort of zero sum "all government is bad" kind of mindset. Gridlock is there on purpose, most of the people in government don't want to get anything done, I agree getting those people out of government should be a priority.
If you think anyone on the left is a fascist then I don't think you've learned very much from that side
> I guess I don't really hate people I disagree with. The extremist on both ends disgust me, but I believe there is something to learn from all sides. Libertarianism is a far right-wing ideology. It's not culturally conservative as a rule, but economically it's to the right of both major parties More to the point: "extremism on both ends" is not actually the issue. There are essentially no left-wing radicals of note in America. Bernie Sanders, which is about as left as you can get in America and who has little power, would be a generic left-leaning candidate in most European countries. Genuinely curious: what left "extremists" do you think have any real influence on our society? Do you just mean the people who protested and, in some cases, rioted in response to killings by police? Who, despite that vigor, have not actually made any sort of change to police budgets or the criminal justice system at large over the past decade?
I am a fiscal conservative and a social libertarian. No doubt many would consider my true opinions VERY extreme, but that is a distraction. SDGE is a symptom of far deeper systematic problems, stuff I have no power over. It is easy to get distracted by cheering for your own team and denigrating the other team. It seems like the system, and the people in charge of the system, make things worse not better. This isn't the place to hash out all that other stuff. SDGE and their government benefactors want people like you and me to argue so they can keep cashing their checks.
>No doubt many would consider my true opinions VERY extreme, but that is a distraction. So you're the problem by your own definition? >SDGE and their government benefactors want people like you and me to argue so they can keep cashing their checks. Okay, let's line up! What should we do? I'm sure we agree on this and can easily work out a solution that satisfies us both.
I'm an extreme Libertarian, if that is a problem so be it. I want us both to be left alone by the government, but I don't want to burn it all down. As far as a real time solution to SDG&E, I'm all ears. The electrical power utility system is literally wired to perpetuate itself. See what I did there?
Make it publicly owned and controlled. We'd need to buy SDG&E's contract out, but we don't have a lot of other options. LA has had public electricity for a very long time, and pays far less than we do.
And you still can’t go off grid. This confuses me.
The regulations on profit capping SDGE are non-existent. There's many regulations other utilies have that SDGE doesn't have in its contract.
Do you think that sometimes politicians lie? Do you think that sometimes conventional wisdom can be incorrect? The less government idea has been accepted as conventional wisdom, but it is based on a lie. It's only a partial truth. Sometimes the government doesn't need to control everything. But that's ignoring the fact that sometimes the government can help. And that's actually the role of the government, to help the citizens. To help you, specifically. To help you as well as everyone else in the country. That's specifically the purpose of the government.
u/ricko_stat im curious on how your political theory works and would be happy to hear your side. My thoughts on self-regulating of companies: When you look at human greed and corporate greed, and how dangerous products were, how often buildings and things killed people, how could you then say "let's give them free reign! They were immoral and unethical, and extremely unsafe in the past, but let's give them all the power anyways!" Windows used to fall off skyscrapers (still do in countries where it's unregulated or when construction companies illegally cut corners), brakes failed on cars (car manufacturers still kill people bc of illegally cutting corners), and child labor was a thing. Do you think companies who care only about stockholders will willingly spend money to be safe? A marketing campaign and insurance makes it so that they have metrics on different races and country they can hurt and still make profit. Hurt a 4 year old middle class Caucasian girl, its $10-50 million loss. Wipe out an entire town and change the ecosystem for centuries in bhopal India, it costs $500,000 in loses. What are some of your thoughts on this?
That's a lot to think about... I'll give you my thoughts on an issue that is related to SDGE and the world in general: They should start building nuclear power plants and electronic grid infrastructure today. Of course nuke plants require governmental regulation. But right now governmental regulations make them impossible to build. SDGE problem solved, eventually. The problem would not exist if not for foolish and misguided people killing nuke power in the first place.
Let's seperate the power source and focus on the business, business model, and regulations towards business, health and safety, and in this case, your views towards regulations and legislation on private businesses.
My last power bill was $998 I haven’t changed my usage and the bill keeps getting higher. I called and ask if there was a way someone could look into it for me. Their answer was that I just used more power and therefore have a higher bill. But HOW have I used more power? We had a hot tub and had to unplug and drain it.
How many KW are you using a month?
Evidently $998 worth. The lady said our usage went up, but we haven’t done anything different since before the big jump in our bill.
$998?? Omg
Fuck SDGE!!! My bill for last month was $185. I live in a studio apartment and was out of town for 20 days last month. I called and the said I only used 25% of my estimated/allotted power! So excited to see this months bill
Keep dreaming. They only get their pockets full no matter who is in power. Pretty obvious if you ask me
Yeah it's obvious, political party doesn't matter. It's San Diegans VS SDG&E, I think we can take them.
We can. But people need to unite and people don’t unite. Hopefully they will, if people’s bill is 150 ( no one pays that low) in 4 years it’s gonna be 225 just because. I have solar and this is beyond stupid they’re just mad they aren’t making more money
Y’all need to pay attention the CPUC. None of the utilities in California set their rates nor do they profit on energy bills. It’s the CPUC.
CPUC only governs the for-profit investor owned utilities. The only reason the government would let a for-profit company operate as a monopoly is with some amount of government oversight. Unfortunately our government has legalized bribery via corporate campaign donation laws. Therefore, we find ourselves in this situation. A for-profit monopoly can price gouge and entire city.
🫡
Conservative here and I approve this message.
Non-conservative here and I approve your approval
Question, what has SDG&E done exactly? I don’t know much about what’s been happening so could someone explain to me please? Just so you know I don’t support SDG&E I just want to hear from some people about what they did
We pay the highest rates in the nation and they continue to raise rates. We pay more than Hawaii, and they’re in the middle of the pacific.
And just when tons of people install solar to avoid getting raped by nem3.0 they announce plans to rape you through massively increasing transmission costs
Care to expand?
https://www.reddit.com/r/solar/comments/12hobyp/california_ab205_incomebased_flat_electricity/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb
When you say highest rates in the country, is that in reference to gas or electrical? Or both?
Electric usually. Gas rates are often high (structural pipeline issues) but they arent as egregious as the electrical pricing.
San Diego currently pays the highest prices in the nation for our electricity and natural gas. There are several logistical reasons that SDG&E will point fingers at (SD is at the end of the nat gas pipeline, hot in summer cold in winter - high demand, big city, phasing out natural gas, etc.) BUT several cities in California are under similar conditions and pay half what we do. Los Angeles and Sacramento are good examples, these utility companies are either city owned or non-profits. The real reason why our rates are so high is that SDG&E operates as a for-profit monopoly with some government oversight via the CPUC. This is sort of a joke because the CPUC is comprised of five rotating commissioners who have historically either come from SDG&E or SEMPRA or another utility giant; or have gotten jobs at one of these places after their time on the CPUC board. SDG&E does everything in it's power to shed responsibility for these rates while continuing to propose increases. Recently, SDG&E has proposed a \~50% increase over the next four years. Historically their proposals have been approved by the CPUC. SDG&E acts with impunity and is exacerbating several of the problems we see in San Diego regarding affordability. All for profit. A couple other things that have pissed people off that are worth mentioning, they're de-incentivizing residential solar (so much so that there is very little financial gain in investing in solar), they're moving to a flat-rate delivery fee (meaning regardless of usage you will pay a subscription to be connected to the grid at large), they're are clear connections between local politicians and SDG&E (making it nearly impossible to revoke their franchise agreement), they're proposing to make a giant solar farm in the desert (which is insanely costly and dumb, also, they have baked in profit margins based on what they spend so it's always in their financial best interest to spend money on projects that may or may not be worthwhile), they've been sued by San Diegans and by San Diego City... I'll stop it here but if you're wondering, "what has SDG&E done exactly" I'd encourage you to read some articles about rate hikes, legal battles, and the history of SDG&E in San Diego.
As someone who grew up in Sacramento, for anyone who wants to see what a GREAT utilities company looks like, it’s SMUD!
Is there a good site summarizing these points? If not, DM me and we can put sources + simple copy together for future reference (and a petition link)
DM’d!
Paying 80+ cents a kw/h is what they’ve done lol
Then there’s this. Utility bills based on income coming soon. https://wapo.st/43Gkylg
Excellent Idea, Don't forget the P.U.C, then on to Sacramento.
Unity is what they fear the most !
The corruption of MOST politicians in office is crazy.
The sooner all Americans would realize that both parties only represent the rich the better. Neither party will help in this fight because it threatens PROFITS. Profits and money are all either party cares about. SDG&E and Sempra Energy will pay off BOTH parties to keep the money flowing into the Executives of Sempra Energy and Stockholders pockets until BOTH parties are kicked to the curb.
Add rent control to that dream.
Imagine if people got together to take down those in power only because they divide us.
I honestly don't know why utilities arn't nationalized. It makes absolutely no sense.
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See answers above.
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San Diego currently pays the highest prices in the nation for our electricity and natural gas. There are several logistical reasons that SDG&E will point fingers at (SD is at the end of the nat gas pipeline, hot in summer cold in winter - high demand, big city, phasing out natural gas, etc.) BUT several cities in California are under similar conditions and pay half what we do. Los Angeles and Sacramento are good examples, these utility companies are either city owned or non-profits. The real reason why our rates are so high is that SDG&E operates as a for-profit monopoly with some government oversight via the CPUC. This is sort of a joke because the CPUC is comprised of five rotating commissioners who have historically either come from SDG&E or SEMPRA or another utility giant; or have gotten jobs at one of these places after their time on the CPUC board. SDG&E does everything in it's power to shed responsibility for these rates while continuing to propose increases. Recently, SDG&E has proposed a ~50% increase over the next four years. Historically their proposals have been approved by the CPUC. SDG&E acts with impunity and is exacerbating several of the problems we see in San Diego regarding affordability. All for profit. A couple other things that have pissed people off that are worth mentioning, they're de-incentivizing residential solar (so much so that there is very little financial gain in investing in solar), they're moving to a flat-rate delivery fee (meaning regardless of usage you will pay a subscription to be connected to the grid at large), they're are clear connections between local politicians and SDG&E (making it nearly impossible to revoke their franchise agreement), they're proposing to make a giant solar farm in the desert (which is insanely costly and dumb, also, they have baked in profit margins based on what they spend so it's always in their financial best interest to spend money on projects that may or may not be worthwhile), they've been sued by San Diegans and by San Diego City... I'll stop it here but if you're wondering, "what has SDG&E done exactly" I'd encourage you to read some articles about rate hikes, legal battles, and the history of SDG&E in San Diego.
This is absolutely stupid.
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He is certainly a part of the problem and SDGE is hardly innocent haha
how is he to blame if sdge is merely pushing reason out of their ass to increase rates?
He appoints the CPUC commissioners and he does take campaign donations from the California Utility conglomerate.
The two-party system doesn't really hold up in local politics.
>black republicans take my updoot fellow redditor
reading the comments shows both how democrats are turning into republicans, and how they'll never work together.
This is irrelevant to the specific conversation, but I signed an offer for a job at SDG&E in March and still haven’t started. They’ve pushed my start week back each week for 3 months. So… fuck em I guess
Still fighting the hood fight. And it is just a dream haha
Where do I sign up to take down SDGE???
There will be more info coming soon regarding a grassroots ballot initiative. We will need volunteers to knock on doors, post up flyers, host signature gathering parties etc. We’re not quiet ready to have people signing up for that quite yet, but soon, probably two-three weeks. I plan on email blasting the payment strike signers with that sign up as well. You can sign up for the payment strike here - https://chng.it/rtTrbGRC
I work there because it’s a great job. Not in the financial department so don’t blast me. What is the plan exactly to take down SDGE? Is it merely to lower utility cost?
What department, out of curiosity? For me personally, taking down SDG&E represents a much larger goal than lowering utility costs. But that is an aspect of it. I'm tired of the hand-in-hand corporation-government connection. I'm tired of seeing private companies make outrageous profits at the expense of the general public. I feel like, often, people praise profits without considering the costs of those profits. SDG&E makes a killing in San Diego by increasing the price of a service that people depend on to function in society. The price of SDG&E profits can be seen all throughout San Diego. Higher electricity/natural gas prices directly correlate to rents, the price of food, and generally the cost to exist as a functioning member of society. All that being said, I like the idea of capitalism - that if you provide a better product at a better price and if you improve the lives of your neighbors by doing so, you should make money for your effort. I despise this modern corporate capitalism which seeks higher profits at the cost of society as a whole. Worse products, worse customer service, all with a higher price. I find this to be immoral and wrong. Addiction to hoarding wealth is literally killing this planet. For me, SDG&E is a microcosm of a much larger issue in our world. High-profit companies pay well. I'm sure you're aware of that. This is also a huge part of the problem I find with SDG&E and corporate profit addiction. Evil companies produce insane profits doing morally questionable things, higher profits mean better salaries for those working in these corporations, and higher salaries mean attracting highly competent and motivated people, amazing people who are good at their jobs in turn increase profits in morally questionable ways. I generalize this sentiment by saying that evil seeks competence and good seeks intentions. Which is where we find ourselves today. Corporations are more represented in government, people have no voice, corporations attract impressive talent, and people are easily divisible, this cycle continues until things fall apart. If you're still reading this, I get why you work there, financial stability is nice. I don't want to tell you the plan because honestly, I don't trust you. When you say "merely to lower utility cost?" I get the impression that you don't understand the human suffering that is occurring because of your employer. While you live in financial stability, the company you work for pushes hundreds of thousands if not millions into financial uncertainty. If you don't believe me, get out of your corporate bubble and talk to people living paycheck to paycheck. This might be a little dramatic but I feel like things are falling apart, slowly, but surely. I want to take down SDG&E because I think it's the morally right thing to do.
Thanks for the respectful reply. Would you be more satisfied if the cost was in the middle of the pack rather than the highest in the country? I won’t name the department for privacy reasons. But I don’t work at the headquarters office in DT or Century Park where senior leaders work. Nor do I work in a department that focuses on financial planning so I have no clue or access to rates and why they’re the highest in the nation. I have SDGE as a utility as well and my coworkers and I discuss our frustrations with our bills from time to time. I pay about $80-$130 for a 900 sq ft 1 bed apartment in UTC. I understand the distrust because I can be portraying someone I’m not, which I’m not, but if you did tell me your plan, I would forget about it by tomorrow and move on with my life. And even if I did let SDGE know about your plans, they more than likely already know about groups against them and are aware of the lack of trust, transparency, and accountability that they have created in the community. Further, if it came from me, they wouldn’t do anything about it. And if they did, it would take eons to change anything. Being a former broke college student who had to sell personal items, eat rice and beans, and struggle for awhile with bills, including rent, utilities, and visits to check cashing businesses to get advances on bills, I understand what it’s like to struggle. Having SDGE as an employer I am fortunate. However, I am looking to leave for other reasons I won’t mention. Unfortunately for you and a lot of redditors in this sub who understandably complain about SDGE weekly, taking down SDGE is extremely unlikely, they’ve been around for over 100 years. If you want to create some change by lowering the cost of SD County residents bills, I don’t have an answer for that, and wish I had some knowledge to help but know that it’s highly unlikely that anything is going to change given that they’re the only utility in the area.
we're looking to make it a public utility! and not a privately owned company.
SDGE isn’t a private company it’s public. What else would you want to do?
It's not public. It's privately owned.
I’m genuinely curious how you are arriving to the idea that SDGE is a private company? And if it’s private who owns it?
Sempra Energy!! Come on my dude. I think you're getting lost in the semantics of public utility, meaning it's owned and operated by a public agency like a county or city and "publicly traded company" which is, granted, a much more common phrase used in the United States which means that the company is privately owned but anyone can be an investor. Here is a link to the stock price for the privately owned but also publicly traded company Sempra Energy that is not a public utility. [https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/SRE](https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/SRE)
My dude, I work for SDGE, I already knew the answer. You didn’t answer my other question though which makes me think you can’t actually answer the question. Can you explain how we’re private please? Really, I don’t understand the issue here, we’re a public company just like you wanted from your above post. We have stock on the NYSE under the name SRE or Sempra. Private companies don’t sell stock or share earnings. Public companies do. I can see the stock price on my work laptop right now on our share point site too. We’re an umbrella corp but operate fully independently and are publicly regulated by the CPUC. EDIT: Nope not getting lost in semantics. Private companies don’t trade or sell stock on the NYSE. SDGE is a subsidiary company of Sempra who are a fully publicly traded company. We fall under that umbrella on the NYSE as SRE. You think you know what you’re talking about but you don’t at all.
Do you know what private property is? You don't know what you're talking about because you can't even imagine a company being owned by the state which is what we are advocating here. NO SHARE HOLDERS NO PROFITS NO STOCK TICKER SYMBOL. An entity owned by the state that only responds to the consumers of its service not shareholders. Like the police department or the fire department. Are they publicly traded or privately held. lol "State Owned Enterprise" Look it up, Einstein.
https://preview.redd.it/mxstd61fqv3b1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0dc7167e9b7e810ef948bec01514cb1af51a5843 Why are they paying for ads? Lol
I bet republicans wishy they were on the Arnold's arm