Full Title: Power Trip: How Utilities Use Customer Money to Fund Lobbying, Corporate Branding, and Luxury Lifestyle Expenses
Author(s): Karlee Weinmann and Itai Vardi
Publisher(s): Energy Policy Institute
Publication Date: December 11, 2024
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
As state lawmakers prepare to convene for their 2025 legislative sessions, they have a clear opportunity to rein in a common practice by monopoly utilities to charge their customers for inappropriate and unnecessary expenses, according to a new report from the Energy and Policy Institute.
The report includes real-world examples showing how the nation’s most prominent investor-owned utilities have routinely tried to charge customers — and often succeeded — for problematic expenses ranging from staff lobbying and slick corporate advertising, to private jet flights and spa services. Additionally, the report outlines policy solutions designed to protect utility customers from shouldering such expenses.