Utilities Break California Lobbying Record Under Newsom While Former Aides Lead Utility-Backed Wildfire Coalition, Says Consumer Watchdog

New disclosures show utilities spent a record $16.7 million lobbying Sacramento through the first six quarters of the 2025–2026 legislative session as lawmakers consider a utility bailout in end of session scramble

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Aug. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- California's three largest investor-owned utilities — Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), Southern California Edison (Edison), and Sempra Energy (Sempra) — have already mounted the most expensive lobbying campaign in state history, spending $16.7 million lobbying Governor Gavin Newsom's administration, the Legislature and state regulators through the first six reporting quarters of the 2025–2026 legislative session, according to new disclosures released today.

Consumer Watchdog's review of CAL-ACCESS lobbying records dating back to the 1999–2000 legislative session found the current session has already surpassed every previous utility lobbying campaign on record — even though two quarterly reporting periods remain before the session concludes.

At the same time, utilities have increasingly declined to answer reporters' questions directly, instead referring media inquiries to Wildfire Victims First, a new disinformation coalition funded entirely by California's investor-owned utilities and utility political committees. Despite its name, the organization is not funded by independent wildfire survivor groups but instead is pushing a utility bailout in an end of session scramble. The coalition's spokesman, Nathan Click, previously served as Governor Gavin Newsom's communications director and chief spokesman before founding the Sacramento communications firm now representing the organization. Consumer Watchdog also found that Wildfire Victims First's television advertising is being placed by Polaris Campaign Media, the affiliated media-buying firm of BearStar Strategies, Governor Newsom's longtime political consulting firm.

Utilities spent more than $4.35 million lobbying Sacramento during the second quarter of 2026 alone, including more than $353,000 lobbying the California Public Utilities Commission. PG&E accounted for nearly three-quarters of all utility lobbying reported during the quarter, spending nearly $3.2 million.

Table 1: New Q2 Lobbying Disclosures (April 1 – June 30, 2026)

Through the first six reporting quarters of the 2025–2026 legislative session, PG&E, Edison and Sempra have spent a combined $16.7 million lobbying state government, including $15.9 million on general lobbying and more than $870,000 lobbying the California Public Utilities Commission.

Table 2: 2025–2026 Legislative Session Lobbying Through Q2 2026

Consumer Watchdog's review of lobbying disclosures since Governor Gavin Newsom took office shows utility lobbying has climbed dramatically during his administration. The previous high-water mark came during the 2023–2024 legislative session, when utilities spent $16.1 million lobbying Sacramento. With two quarterly reporting periods still remaining, the 2025–2026 session has already surpassed that total, making it the most expensive utility lobbying campaign and under the Newsom administration.

Table 3: Utility Lobbying by Legislative Session (General + CPUC Lobbying)

The record-breaking lobbying campaign comes during one of the most consequential legislative sessions for California's investor-owned utilities in years, as lawmakers and regulators decide who ultimately pays the costs of catastrophic wildfires:

• New 2026 Utility Bailout Proposal: Governor Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders are reportedly negotiating another end-of-session utility bailout that could further shield California's investor-owned utilities from the financial consequences of the catastrophic wildfires they cause. According to CalMatters, proposals under discussion could further limit compensation to wildfire survivors, eliminate insurers' ability to recover wildfire losses from utilities, and cap attorneys' fees—making it harder for survivors to obtain legal representation and shifting billions of dollars in wildfire costs from utility shareholders to California families. The Governor's office has confirmed discussions are underway but has not released the legislative language.
• SB 254 – the 2025 Utility Bailout: In 2025, utilities successfully backed last-minute gut-and-amend legislation the Los Angeles Times called "effectively a bailout," extending financial protections that shift billions of dollars in future wildfire costs from utility shareholders to California customers and taxpayers.
• AB 1774 – Utility Accountability Defeated: In 2026, utilities opposed legislation sponsored by Every Fire Survivor's Network and Consumer Watchdog that would have required independent financial audits before collecting additional wildfire mitigation funds from ratepayers. The bill followed a 2021 audit finding PG&E, Edison and SDG&E could not account for $2.5 billion of the $6 billion collected from customers for wildfire mitigation. Today, the utilities collect roughly $9 billion every year for wildfire mitigation—representing as much as one-third of a typical residential electric bill—yet no ongoing financial audits are required. Although AB 1774 passed its first policy committee 11-0, it later died in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
• CPUC Rate Cases – Another 2025 Bailout: Separate lobbying disclosures show utilities also spent heavily lobbying the California Public Utilities Commission while Newsom-appointed commissioners approved a financial "rescue" package for Southern California Edison worth more than $2 billion. The CPUC approved a $1.1 billion annual revenue increase in September 2025, plus nearly $1 billion in retroactive cost recovery. Two months later, Edison raised its shareholder dividend for the 22nd consecutive year, returning nearly $1.3 billion to investors. By year's end, the company reported $4.5 billion in profits — more than triple the previous year's $1.3 billion — with CEO Pedro Pizarro crediting California regulatory decisions as a key driver of the company's financial performance.

"Utilities aren't just spending record amounts lobbying Sacramento," said Carmen Balber, Executive Director of Consumer Watchdog. "This is the largest utility lobbying campaign in modern California history, unfolding as Governor Newsom considers another end-of-session utility bailout. While utilities marshal lobbyists, political consultants and public relations campaigns, wildfire survivors are fighting to preserve their legal rights. That's the worst of California politics."

 "They burned down our homes. Now they're spending millions pretending to be wildfire survivors while real survivors fight to get home. Together with millions of Americans, we call on Governor Newsom to stop bailing out utility monopolies and start protecting the people they harmed," said Joy Chen, founder of Every Fire Survivor's Network.

Every Fire Survivor's Network and Consumer Watchdog are leading the No Utility Bailouts campaign at DearNewsom.org, a coalition of public officials and organizations representing more than 3.5 million Americans urging Governor Newsom to reject another utility bailout.

The dual lobbying and communications strategy reflect the extraordinary political stakes surrounding California's wildfire and insurance crisis, where Governor Newsom has emerged as the central decision-maker. With a new legislative bailout language expected this month, the outcome of those debates could determine who ultimately bears the cost of California's next catastrophic wildfire — utility shareholders, taxpayers, ratepayers or survivors themselves.

"When utilities are simultaneously mounting the most expensive lobbying campaign in California history while Governor Newsom's former chief spokesman serves as the face of their utility-funded coalition and his longtime political consulting network helps promote its message, Californians have every reason to ask whether utility influence has become too deeply embedded in the state's decision-making. Wildfire survivors deserve transparency, accountability and confidence that these decisions are being made in the public interest, not the utilities'."

Click here to review of 2019-2026 lobbying records. Press conference and postcard party photos from Every Fire Survivor's Network are available here: EFSN Press Conference & Postcard Party Photo Assets

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SOURCE Consumer Watchdog