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Electric bills: “One two three four! Edison profits make us poor!”

March 27, 2026

The human dressed as Monopoly’s Moneybags man tossed fake dollar bills skyward.

“SO CAL EDISON SATAN,” proclaimed one protest sign. “STOP utility greed,” “ANAHEIM PUBLIC UTILITY CUSTOMERS PAY 58% LESS THAN EDISON CUSTOMERS” and “HONK IF U HATE SCE,” said others.

Monopoly's moneybags man protests Edison's profits in Irvine on March 26, 2026. (Photo by Teri Sforza) — Monopoly’s moneybags man protests Edison’s profits in Irvine on March 26, 2026. (Photo by Teri Sforza)

The honks came fast and furious in front of Irvine City Hall on Thursday.

It’s no secret that our electric bills have doubled over the last decade. Or that California’s utility regulator is accused of rubber-stamping rate hike requests from the big investor-owned electric utilities. Or that our entire system is structured to reward those utilities for spending more than necessary on infrastructure projects (because that’s what determines their profits, creating what critics call “a perverse incentive”).

It’s also no secret that a slew of affordability bills is pending in the legislature to tame this beast of our own creation (more on that in a minute).

But what set the 30-or-so protesters off on Thursday was that Southern California Edison’s profits spiked to $4.9 billion in 2025, not to mention outrage over head honcho compensation ($16.6-million for parent Edison International’s CEO in 2025, up 20% from the year before; and $6.5 million for SCE’s president, up 65% from the year before).

Much of the profit surge came after customers were charged for wildfires that the utility itself caused, fuming protesters said.

“The CPUC simply approves every rate increase the utilities ask for,” said Kathleen Treseder, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at UC Irvine and an elected member of Irvine’s city council. “This is a crime.”

Tomas Castro of the Climate Action Campaign put it this way: “Our electric bills are too damn high and we are fed up. Those profits came off our backs. Today we say, ‘Enough!’ “

Reform!

There are lots of ideas floating around out there to get things under control. They include:

–Assembly Bill 2463 by Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris, D-Irvine, which would force regulators to re-evaluate how much money they allow utilities to pay their shareholders in exchange for shouldering the risk of funding infrastructure investments. It would require the California Public Utilities Commission to conduct a robust, independent analysis to determine the true risk utility shareholders face, and balance risk with the proper reward.

“I was shocked to learn that, in its current process, the CPUC doesn’t conduct an independent, objective analysis of what they think is the right answer for utility return on equity,” Petrie-Norris told us recently. “Every year, we get proposals to cut the (return on investment). They’re never based on data or facts, but on feelings. We need to do the math to get this right.”

–The FAIR Utility Rate Act, AB 2338 by Assemblymember Rhodesia Ransom, D-Tracy, aims to rein in rising bills by requiring companies to justify rate increases that outpace inflation. Since 2014, electricity rates have risen about 2.5 times the rate of inflation.

Protesters in Irvine on March 26, 2026 (Photo by Teri Sforza)

–Senate Bill 327 by Sen. Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton, would forbid utilities from using ratepayer money to keep customers hostage — which is to say, lobbying against public “municipalization” of utility services.

–SB 1098 by Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez, D-Pasadena, which would give the CPUC a fuller picture of utility accounting when it weighs what charges are “just and reasonable.”

–The Gas Transition Responsibility and Electrification Act, SB 1359 by Sen. Henry Stern, D-Los Angeles, would require the commission to ensure that costs associated with avoidable natural gas leakage (including methane emissions resulting from inadequate maintenance or infrastructure replacement delays), are not paid for by customers.

–AB 1715 by Assemblymember Pilar Schiavo, D-Chatsworth, would increase utility transparency. It would require utilities to create a standardized online database for requests to the PUC, as well as report their use of taxpayer funding, including grants, loans and bonds.

Electricity costs less, by and large, when it's provided by public agencies rather than private utilities. — Electricity costs less, by and large, when it’s provided by public agencies rather than private utilities.

Many of these legislative proposals are championed by The Utility Reform Network, which recently sponsored a poll that found an overwhelming majority of Californians — 81% — are somewhat or very concerned about their electric bills.

“The latest earnings reports make one thing painfully clear: while California families struggle with skyrocketing utility bills, investor-owned utilities are posting billions in profits,” said Mark Toney, TURN’s executive director, in a prepared statement.

“Record breaking utility shareholder profits should motivate state lawmakers to adopt legislation to promote public financing, reduce overspending on undergrounding power lines, and other strategies to reduce ratepayer costs for capital projects, and pass along the savings to residential and business customers.”

Thursday’s protest in Irvine bore that out. “One two three four! Edison profits make us poor!” protesters chanted. “Five six seven eight! We deserve a profit break!”

Edison explains

Edison spokesman Jeff Monford said that the compensation for everyone at Edison, including executives and board directors, is based on benchmarking.

“We aim to pay the median for comparable positions,” he said. “Financial performance is a major factor, as is the case for every public company…. As we explained in recent financial filings, and widely to the public last month, the board reduced annual bonuses for top leaders by 40% and other senior leaders by 20%. This reflects the seriousness of what our communities have faced over the past year, and these senior leaders fully supported the decision.”

Edison understands that the communities affected by the Eaton fire have faced great hardships, and in October, SCE launched the Wildfire Compensation and Recovery Program, he said. “We are supporting affected communities, including increased coverage for legal expenses and displaced renters. Recently, customers who accepted settlement offers have come forward to say they find the offers fair and that they are now able to move forward in rebuilding.”

On the 2025 profit surge, he said the increase was primarily due to higher revenue approved in SCE’s general rate case, as well as a benefit-to-interest expense related to cost recoveries authorized under 2017-18 wildfire and mudslide settlement agreements.

On rates: “We find and deliver the most effective, lowest-cost approaches to providing customers with the power they need while also helping California achieve its energy policy goals,” he said. “We began the new year with millions of customers seeing rates for their electricity usage decrease by an average of 4.3%, effective Jan. 1. We forecast that 2026 rates will stabilize and trend lower, with fluctuations during the year.”

The company’s Wildfire Mitigation Plan for 2026-28 “focuses proactively on reducing wildfire risks, improving emergency preparedness and response and safeguarding the communities we serve,” he said. “Immediate action today means safer communities tomorrow. By tackling vulnerabilities now, we are not just reducing wildfire risk; we are building long-term resilience.”

Changes afoot

The state’s Little Hoover Commission, a good-government watchdog, has warned that shrinking bills in a meaningful way in the short-term would be very difficult. California’s goal of 100% renewable energy, and challenges posed by increasingly-devastating wildfires, are a big part of that, but Little Hoover laid out a plan to keep them from spiking much further.

Its recommendations would shrink utility profits, increase fixed charges to keep in step with income, offer relief to inland dwellers who depend on summer air conditioning, and cap benefits for rooftop solar owners.

At the protest, passion was running high for publicly-owned utilities, which, by and large, charge less than private, investor-owned utilities, and can fund infrastructure improvements at much lower interest rates than can those private companies. Irvine Councilmember Treseder urged Orange County cities to join the Orange County Power Authority, a Community Choice Aggregation program that empowers local government to control how and where electricity is purchased.

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Others championed local power generation from rooftop solar. And just about everyone insisted that state lawmakers — from the governor on down — take real action to relieve the burden on everyday Californians.

“What do we want?” the protesters chanted. “Lower bills!”

“When do we want it?” “Now!”

Electric bills: “One two three four! Edison profits make us poor!” Orange County Register

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Electric bills: “One two three four! Edison profits make us poor!”

Reform!

Edison explains

Changes afoot

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