OAKLAND — PG&E profits have surged in the second quarter of 2023, driven by strong growth in revenue from its electricity and gas divisions, according to the company’s report on Thursday.
The utility recorded a profit of $406 million in the second quarter from April to June, marking a 17.3% increase compared to the $356 million profit in the same period last year.
PG&E, based in Oakland, reported a revenue of $5.29 billion in the second quarter, a 3.4% rise from $5.12 billion in the same April-June period of the previous year.
The revenue from electricity totaled $3.85 billion, a 4.4% increase from the previous year, while gas revenue reached $1.44 billion, representing a 0.7% growth from the second quarter of 2022.
“Through the first half of 2023, we feel confident that we continue to reduce physical risk on our system overall,” commented Patricia Poppe, the CEO of PG&E.
The company attributes the significant improvement in its financial performance to various factors, such as lower expenses related to PG&E’s recently concluded bankruptcy case and reduced costs associated with wildfires.
PG&E has been striving to recover from a series of disasters that began in 2010, including the fatal gas explosion in San Bruno and a string of deadly wildfires in Northern California.
In response to these catastrophes, PG&E has been actively working to enhance its electric and gas systems to mitigate the risk of future disasters, which have plagued both the company and its customers for years.
“Our investments since 2017 have made a dramatic difference in preventing catastrophic wildfires,” added Poppe.