Those dividends are necessary to raise the private capital necessary to run PG&E. It's not a charity, and it's certainly not a "market." It's a state-sponsored monopoly. The only other ways to fund it are increased energy prices or tax dollars.
Now, that doesn't excuse them because its entirely possible they did not invest wisely. But simply blaming "profit" is hand wavy anti-corporate speak, which doesn't necessarily explain what is happening.
> You mention profit a lot, but do you know how a utility earns money? Rate payer might be the obvious answer, but there is another.
No, there isn't.
> Capital projects, investments into itself that make the company tick.
That doesn't make money, it reduces operating expenses and increases operating margins at the same rates. The money still comes from ratepayers. And public entities reduce operating expenses the same way, the benefits (after paying for any debt financing) just go to taxpayers, rather than private investors.
I said earn money. But I phrased it poorly, so i'll explain further with what I know. I also assume we're still talking about regulated utilities.
Capital project costs (along with other fixed costs) generally get passed through to rate payers + an approved ROR by the public utility board. Operating expenses cut into this. Capital project costs do not necessarily reduce operation expenses directly.
Everything about the utility, including the rate of return to the investors, is approved by the public utility commission. If you cut off that rate of return, you have no more private investors.
