Dive Brief:
- PG&E Corp. announced fourth quarter 2014 earnings of 27 cents per share, compared with 19 cents in the same quarter the year before.
- The company said its general rate case was the largest driver behind the rise in operating income, with operating earnings reaching $253 million in the fourth quarter up from $191 million over the same period in 2013.
Dive Insight:
It's still a time of turmoil for PG&E Corp., though the Wall Street Journal notes that fourth quarter profits were up more than 50% as the company took fewer pipeline charges. "We made tremendous progress in 2014 as we worked together to provide our customers with energy that is safe, reliable, affordable and clean," said PG&E Chairman and CEO Tony Earley.
But as the utility continues to wait on a final decision in gas penalty proceedings, PG&E said it is not providing guidance for 2015 operating earnings per share. The cost to shareholders for natural gas pipeline safety-related work incurred since the San Bruno accident or committed over the next several years now totals about $2.8 billion, based on current forecasts, the company said.
PG&E completed its system-wide cast iron pipe replacement program, and set a company record for reliability for the sixth straight year in its electric business. "And more than 50 percent of our electricity was greenhouse-gas-free," Earley said. "We also achieved a balanced outcome in our general rate case under which our customers continue to have bills that are below the national average."
PG&E noted "the largest factor contributing to this quarter-over-quarter increase was the impact of expense recovery authorized in the utility's 2014 general rate case."
The company noted its regulatory troubles. Earley said the company suffered a "disappointing setback regarding ex parte communications that we sincerely regret." The California Public Utilities Commission fined Pacific Gas & Electric Co. more than $1 million for a series of emails that showed the utility attempting to negotiate with CPUC commissioners for a favorable judge to be assigned to its rate case.
Earley said PG&E took "swift and decisive action to address this serious matter and to avoid ex parte violations in the future." He added that "as we look to 2015, we continue to believe that it is vital that state regulators resolve gas pipeline investigations that have been ongoing for more than four years."