OAKLAND — PG&E profits hopped higher in the first three months of 2024, a first-quarter financial picture that was brightened by a state regulatory decision last fall to approve higher monthly bills.
The utility titan also raised its earnings forecast for 2024, a prediction that suggests investors and Wall Street can look forward to even better profits than initially anticipated.
For the January-through-March first quarter of 2024, PG&E captured $732 million in profits, up 28.6% from $569 million in earnings for the same quarter last year.
Revenue for PG&E slowed, however. Overall operating revenue totaled $5.86 billion in the first quarter of 2024, down 5.6% from the same quarter in 2023.
Electricity revenue totaled $4.05 billion during the first three months of 2024, down 1.6% from the first quarter of last year.
Natural gas revenue was $5.86 billion in the first quarter of this year. That was a decrease of 13.4% from the year-ago first quarter.
Excluding an array of unusual items that don’t directly relate to PG&E’s typical operations and business, the utility’s profits also zoomed higher.
The adjusted profits totaled $800 million in the first quarter of 2024, a hefty jump of 30% from the same period the year before.