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Utility parent companies Pacific Gas & Electric Corp. and Sempra Energy reported higher earnings for the first quarter of the year. Edison International’s earnings went south. All the subsidiary utilities reaped higher revenue in their rate cases and from wildfire funding.

The companies are seeing lower income from utility bill collections because of the pandemic. The losses are being recorded in special accounts and are to be recouped later. Power demand also is lower with the shelter at home directives, but the utilities are protected by California’s decoupling of their profits from the volume of energy sales.

Edison International: Earnings for Southern California Edison’s parent for the first three months of this year fell to $183 million, or 50 cents per share compared to $278 million the first quarter in 2019, or 85 cents per share. The bulk of the loss was attributed to lower utility earnings, $219 million in this first quarter, or 60 cents/share, compared to $293 million in 2019, or 90 cents/share. There also were $21 million in losses from the parent and other affiliates, linked to higher interest rates.

Pedro Pizarro, Edison chief executive officer, told financial analysts April 30 that the company was working to ensure its “wildfire mitigation work is not unduly impacted by COVID-19.” Its latest earnings report warns it could have a “material impact on SCE's ability to execute its planned work, including wildfire mitigation and capital projects and on the liquidity, cash flows and results of operations of Edison International and SCE.”

The company reported a 6% drop in overall load because of the Covid-19 fallout.

But the good news–the drivers of company profits–include wildfire mitigation funds, the electrification of transportation, including both charging infrastructure and load growth, and utility-owned storage.

The day after releasing its earnings report, the utility announced it signed 770MW of new energy storage contracts.

SCE’s capital expenditures were $4.8 billion last year and projected to increase to $5 billion this year. They are to rise to $5.4 billion in both of the following two years.

The utility forecasts a customer-funded 7.5% annual increase in its ratebase. In 2019, its ratebase was $30.8 billion, and projected to rise to $33.9 billion this year. It is expected to continue to increase, to $35.9 billion and $37 billion, in 2022 and 2023, respectively.

Edison expects to recover from ratepayers $4.4 billion from 2020-23 to make its grid more fire resistant, with $0.9 billion this year, and $1 billion or more each year from 2021-23.

Pacific Gas & Electric Corp : After 14 months in federal bankruptcy court, PG&E’s first quarter earnings more than doubled. It earned $374 million, or 70 cents per share, in the first three months of 2020, compared to $136 million, or 30 cents/share, the first quarter of the previous year, the company reported May 1.

Net income from the utility, which is the parent’s key asset, for the first three months of this year was reported at $451 million, more than three times higher than the $133 million it reported for the first quarter of 2019, two months after entering bankruptcy.

PG&E Corp. officers expressed confidence that the company will emerge from Chapter 11 by the end of June, in time to access up to $20 million of the legislatively-created wildfire trust fund. “Our plan compensates wildfire victims fairly, resolves our liabilities, assumes the collective bargaining agreements with our labor unions and is energy-bill-neutral for our customers,” Bill Johnson, PG&E Corp. chief executive officer and president, stated.

Uncertain at this time is whether most of the wildfire victims will accept the $13.5 billion cash and stock settlement rolled into the nearly $58 billion reorganization plan. May 15 is the final day for them to vote on the plan. The results are expected to be announced the following week. The victims and their lawyers are split on whether the plan is a good deal, largely because victims would receive stock in the new company with uncertain value. In addition, one attorney who represents 18,000 victims and has advocated a yes vote, Mikal Watts, may have a conflict of interest. He secured a line of credit that was sold to two firms holding PG&E debt and providing it insurance. Votes can be changed up through May 15.

Its bankruptcy and reorganization costs this first quarter were $205 million.

As part of the deal reached with Gov. Gavin Newsom, PG&E agreed to rework its board. Only three of its current directors–Cheryl Campbell, William Smith and John Woolard–are to continue serving on the board of the company. Andrew Vesey will remain the utility CEO.

PG&E does not expect power supply or delivery to be disrupted by Covid-19. It also continues “to focus on critical and essential work” to reduce the wildfire risks of its system.

Last year, the company’s ratepayer-funded capital expenditures were $7 billion. These are projected to rise to $7.5 billion this year. Next year, they are expected to increase up to $8.2 billion.

PG&E estimates annual increases to its ratebase close to Edison’s, at 8%. In 2019, it was $40.2 billion, this year its estimated to rise to $44.5 billion and the following year up to $48 billion. The expenditures, including to reduce the risk of utility equipment-sparked fires, and ratebase increases are largely recovered through the utility’s general rate and gas, storage and transmission cases approved by energy regulators.

Financial risks for the company include PG&E’s liability for the 2019 Kincaid Fire near Santa Rosa, and the 2015 Butte fire. Another area of concern is the impact of its probation following the 2009 gas blast in San Bruno, which is in a federal court proceeding before Judge William Alsup. The judge has repeatedly blasted the company for inadequate vegetation clearance.

Last week, Alsup said the utility's outsourcing vegetation management work “remains sloppy and unreliable.” He directed PG&E to use its staff to inspect and identify tree branches that are dangerously close to power lines.

Sempra Energy : The parent company of San Diego Gas & Electric and SoCal Gas reported first quarter net income of $932 million, or $3.08 a share. That is well above its first quarter earnings for 2019 at $539 million, or $1.53 per share.

Part of the higher earnings is attributable to the sale of the company’s Peruvian operations for $3.6 billion, the company reported May 4. A further sale of its Chilean business for $2.23 billion is expected to close at the end of this month.

SDG&E reaped $262 million, compared to $177 million in the first quarter of 2019. Part of the increase was due to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approval of a higher return on equity, to 10.6% from 10.05%.

SoCal Gas’ net income was $303 million for the first quarter, compared to $264 million a year ago. As of the end of April, the company faced 393 lawsuits brought by 36,000 plaintiffs, as well as a shareholder derivative suit for breach of duty over the 2015 months-long massive methane leak.