SAN DIEGO — While many San Diegans are struggling to pay their utility bills, Sempra Energy, the parent company of SDGE, announced Tuesday, it made close to $3 billion in profits in 2023.
Tuesday morning, the group Power San Diego demonstrated outside Sempra's headquarters in downtown San Diego. Power San Diego is trying to replace SDGE with a non-profit utility.
"People in Sacramento are paying half the rates we are," said Craig Rose, of Power San Diego. "People in public utilities in Los Angeles are paying less than we are. People in public utilities across the country are paying less than we are. There's no need to pay these rates."
More than a dozen members of the group stood outside the front doors of the company, holding signs and chanting.
Rose pointed out during Sempra's earnings call today, that the company did not disclose how much profit SDGE made in 2023, though they have in the past.
"They always report SDGE earnings," said Rose. "We think they may be hiding SDGE's earnings because more and more people have been educated across town that their profits, SDGE's profits, come from our pockets."
Tuesday morning, CBS 8 asked Sempra how much SDGE profited last year. Tuesday afternoon Sempra provided documents showing SDGE made $936 million in 2023.
According to Sempra, during the earnings call, the company combined the earnings of SoCalGas and SDGE for simplification from an accounting standpoint. A spokesperson said this is something that was talked about during a previous earnings call.
Regarding high utility bills, Sempra sent CBS 8 the following statement:
Sempra companies help meet the daily energy needs of nearly 40 million consumers and are helping to electrify and decarbonize energy networks across California, Texas, Mexico, and beyond. Meeting ambitious climate goals, while maintaining reliability, requires significant investments in energy networks, and Sempra is proud to play an important role in this effort.
Affordability remains top of mind for us. As we look to meet regulatory mandates for spending around safety, reliability, and sustainability, we also have programs in place across the Sempra family of companies to improve productivity and efficiency for the benefit of customers. The average bill at SDGE is the lowest in the State compared to other investor-owned utilities – and trends in line with the national average for electric bills. Our utility subsidiaries are focused on delivering solutions to customers, including shareholder-funded assistance programs and income-qualified bill discounts for those with financial hardships. We encourage consumers who are struggling to contact their local utility to discuss solutions.