PG&E misses profit estimates hit by higher operating and maintenance costs
The company said its total operating and maintenance costs rose 3.7% to $2.86 billion, adding that wildfire-related claims, net of recoveries and the utility's wildfire fund expense increased from a year earlier.
PG&E has been blamed for sparking numerous wildfires, including some of California's most deadly, and has been making investments to improve the reliability of its power grid.
In a wildfire mitigation plan filed in March for the 2026-2028 period, the utility said it aims to build nearly 700 miles of underground power lines and complete 500 miles of additional wildfire safety system upgrades between 2025 and 2026.
PG&E's total quarterly operating revenue fell to $5.90 billion, from $5.99 billion a year earlier.
PG&E is the parent company of Pacific Gas and Electric Company, an energy company that serves 16 million Californians across a 70,000-square-mile service area in Northern and Central California.
The company said it added nearly 3,300 new customers in the second quarter to its electric grid system.
On an adjusted basis, PG&E reported a quarterly profit of 31 cents per share for the three-month period ended June 30, missing Wall Street expectations by 1 cent per share, according to LSEG.
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Telegraph
3 hours ago
- Telegraph
Tesla Model Y review: Long overdue revamp fails to address the world's favourite EV's main flaws
There have certainly been better years for Tesla, and scarcely a day goes by without more doomslaying for the electric car maker founded in July 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning. Elon Musk became the company's largest shareholder in 2004 and chief executive in 2008. In 22 years, the company has become a phenomenon, with growth partly fuelled by the undoubted virtuosity of its cars, but also profits driven by environmental grants and CO2 trading with traditional car makers. Tesla has seen whopping share-value growth and made life-changing amounts for its investors, which perhaps also fuels the fan-boy hype. One estimate suggested that $1,000 invested in 2010 would now be worth almost $270,000 (£203,000), and in February this year Tesla's worth exceeded one trillion US dollars. Where rival car manufacturers have been worthy-but-dull investments, Tesla took off like a SpaceX rocket, at times the 11th and then the sixth most valuable company in the world. Then there's the Preston Tucker -like hucksterism of Musk, adored as a visionary engineer and rainmaker by some, loathed by others for his grant-aid grabbing and Bitcoin-investments hypocrisy, his toadying up to President Trump, his bullying behaviour and vote-buying in Wisconsin, among others. Oh, and that straight-arm salute at Trump's inauguration… Backlash against Musk The backlash has been a while coming, but it has been furious, with the share price tumbling by 10 per cent at the time of writing, sales plummeting, pickets around North American dealerships and the questioning of Musk's Panglossian announcements, which increasingly fail to materialise. As rivals including Waymo, Volkswagen and others take the lead in self-driving cars; established car makers and the Chinese catch up with the EV revolution just at a time when the public becomes disenchanted with them; and Trump halts the EV grants that have been so crucial to Tesla's success. Investors are questioning Musk's commitment to Tesla, and even he admits that it's a 'rocky road ahead'. As for the Model Y, Tesla's SUV mainstay and in 2023 the world's best-selling car, a revamp earlier this year hasn't exactly been a runaway success. In the first six months of this year, Tesla's European market share plummeted from 2.4 per cent to 1.6 per cent, and sales of the Model Y, while still the best-selling BEV in Europe, were about 50 per cent down in the first five months, although they picked up in June. Current owners speak out While I was waiting for a Tesla Supercharger at a motorway service station, the owner of a current Model Y came up to talk. 'Is that the new Y?' he asked. 'How's it going?' He assailed me with his car's issues: software glitches, patchy build quality, terrible ride quality, uncomfortable seats, poor dealer servicing – along with massive depreciation, after Tesla dropped the price of the Model Y by up to £8,000 in January 2023. This is a blink-and-you'll-miss-it revamp; a blade-type front light bar and a shuffling of panel gaps at the rear to make repairs simpler and cheaper. It has the same steel and aluminium bodyshell but it is more aerodynamic. The suspension consists of front wishbones, with a multi-link rear and passive damping. Yet overall the Model Y is still weirdly dumpy, with a mysteriously high, bowed roofline. Our test car had £2,100-worth of 20in wheels (the standard items are 19in), £1,300 for the white paint (now a priced option – only black and grey are standard) and the £3,400 enhanced Auto Pilot system, all of which takes the price from the standard £48,990 to £55,790 on the road. Business contracts, which are where many of these cars are sold, start at £531 per month for a three-year/8,000 miles-a-year deal. Competition, which when the Model Y was launched five years ago was scant, is now myriad. So think of the Skoda Enyaq, Polestar 4, BYD Sealion 7, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV9 or Renault Scenic E-Tech – and that's before you get to the Germans. Inside information Using the credit card-sized key or a programmed mobile phone, opening the car requires a tap in an unmarked place on the driver's side centre pillar. The interior resembles a Hollywood version of an evil computer boss's office, stark with grey and matt black fabrics, along with plastics interspersed with aluminium. Warm and welcoming it is not. With acoustic glass all round, the sound-deadening is eerie and your ears pop with the pressure change as the doors shut. Accommodation is generous, with copious leg and head room front and rear, although the front seats are mounted quite high. It only has five seats; there's no word yet on whether the AWD Long Range will get a seven-seat option as before. It takes a while to find an ostensibly comfortable driving position, partly because the steering column adjustment is buried in the touchscreen. The low base of the windscreen gives the impression of looking down at the road but, much worse, the front seats are spectacularly uncomfortable during a long journey, due to a strange shape on the backrest and an unsupportive squab. At 2,138 litres with the rear seats folded, the load space is massive, and there's further storage under the boot floor and beneath the bonnet. The electric folding rear seats should be shown to rivals as an example of how to do it; the amateur-hour folding-plank luggage space cover as an example of how not to… It weighs 1,901kg and tows up to 1.6 tons. Too clever by half 'They've given you an indicator stalk,' said the PR in hushed tones, as if Tesla had actually invented the steering-column stalk instead of removing it from its cars and then, when drivers didn't like that, reinstating it. Apart from that, there are few buttons and the central touchscreen dominates the driving experience, by turns brilliant and ingenious and at others exasperating, stupid and distracting. Much of the innovation is too clever by half and a quarter as useful. Take the Auto Shift system, which automatically changes between reverse and forward gears and vice versa when manoeuvring, but quite often leaves you in the wrong gear. The Autopilot 'self-driving' system works all right, but is a poor driver, braking in the middle of corners, slamming on the brakes at nothing, taking its speed limit cue from slip roads and steering erratically through bends. There's no Apple CarPlay or Android Auto in a Tesla for a variety of reasons, not all of them understandable, and the mobile-to-car pairing is far from seamless. The automatic tilting mirrors are useful when reverse parking next to a kerb, but not when reversing normally; changing between the two is a finger-stabbing chore. On the road Changes to the drivetrain are few; improved lubrication for the motor and step-down transmission means less parasitic losses, while the motor magnets have better isolation to reduce flux interference. The range is improved to 387 miles with a commendable efficiency of 4.4 miles per kWh; during a week and 800 miles of mixed use, I achieved 4m/kWh, which equates to a range of 312 miles. Buttons to operate the transmission are in the roof lining, or there's an on-screen control graphic – of course there is. The accelerator action is not linear, so you get a bit of surging. It's a similar story with the unprogressive brakes; the blended electrical retardation and friction lining brake-by-wire system feels as though it would have been better with another six months of development. The Model Y is certainly fast and overtaking holds no fears, although as with any EV, if you spend too long with the accelerator to the floor you'll pay for it in reduced range. The ride is pretty terrible and noisy. The springing feels soft yet the damping is abrupt and harsh, while the bodyshell feels less than the last word in stiffness. This might be due to the 20in wheel option, but it clumps and crashes noisily and never quite settles on motorways. Similarly, and despite the massive tyres, the handling doesn't inspire confidence. The turn-in to corners feels inconsistent and the softly sprung front end reacts badly if you back out halfway through, or adjust your chosen line. The Telegraph verdict The revamped Model Y is efficient, relatively light, well priced and swooshes with the best of EV rivals. It's not much fun to drive, although that also applies to a lot of rivals. But then, as James Carville, Bill Clinton's strategist, once said: 'It's the economy, stupid.' Tesla's Supercharger network costs 36-39p per kW compared with the highway robbery of some providers charging upwards of 85p per kW for rival battery-powered SUVs I could recommend as decent drives. In addition, the tax savings for those running a car through the business are generous (under salary sacrifice, some can save hundreds per month in tax). Small wonder it's so popular; during my week-long test I saw a lot of Tesla taxis, and cabbies know a cheap-to-run vehicle better than most. I just find it hard to forgive the ride and handling and the bloody uncomfortable seats. I would love to spend a couple of days with Tesla's vehicle attributes team to address those issues, but as we know, the firm doesn't speak to anyone, it simply sells cars. The facts On test: Model Y Long Range Rear-Wheel-Drive Body style: five-door, five-seat SUV/crossover On sale: now How much? from £48,990 (£55,790 as tested) How fast? 125mph, 0-62mph in 5.4sec How efficient? 4.38m/kWh (WLTP Combined); 4m/kWh on test Powertrain: 83kWh net (78kWh) lithium-ion NMC battery with single AC permanent magnet synchronous motor, rear-wheel drive Range: 387 miles (WLTP), 312 miles on test Charging: 11kW on-board charger; DC charging up to 250kW with 20-80 per cent in 27min Maximum power/torque: 335bhp/332lb ft CO2 emissions: 0g/km (tailpipe), 23.6g/km (CO2 equivalent well-to-wheel) VED: £10 first year, £620 next five years, then £195 Warranty: four years/60,000 miles on vehicle, eight years/150,000 miles on battery The rivals Skoda Enyaq SportLine 85kW RWD From £46,585 While prices start at £39,010, this is the closest version to the Model Y, with an 85kWh battery, 354-mile range, a top speed of 111mph and 0-62mph in 6.5 sec. The optics are a bit mumsy, but it rides well and has comfortable seats. Kia EV9 RWD From £65,920 A striking seven-seat electric SUV, with a range of 349 miles from its 99.8kWh battery, with a top speed of 114mph and 0-62mph in 9.4sec. Pretty good to drive, but most buyers choose the more expensive all-wheel drive versions.
Reuters
9 hours ago
- Reuters
Rupert Murdoch's new tabloid to bring New York Post attitude to California
LOS ANGELES, Aug 4 (Reuters) - "Headless body in topless bar"-type headlines made famous by the iconic New York Post tabloid could soon greet Californians as Rupert Murdoch's News Corp (NWSA.O), opens new tab prepares to expand to the West Coast with its biggest U.S. daily newspaper launch in nearly 15 years. The California Post, to be headquartered in Los Angeles and set to launch in early 2026, said Sean Giancola, CEO and publisher of the New York Post Media Group, which will include the new publication. California news industry experts say the tabloid would seek to capitalize on the struggles of the incumbent Los Angeles Times, which has shed subscribers and staff. The California Post will offer a familiar mix of what it calls "common-sense journalism," celebrity and entertainment news and sports reporting across multiple platforms, including mobile and desktop, audio, social media and print," Giancola said in an interview. "We already reach 3 million people in the L.A.(market) and over 7 million in California, so there is a base of audience there that already engages in our brand," Giancola said in an interview. Murdoch, the company's chairman emeritus, recognized California as a market opportunity and gave the venture his blessing, said one source with knowledge of the matter. "You don't launch a newspaper without getting feedback from one of the best guys in the business," the source added. The last daily newspaper launched in the U.S. by News Corp, owner of the New York Post and the Wall Street Journal, was the Daily, a digital newspaper for Apple's then-new iPad tablet, in 2011. It folded the following year. A Los Angeles Times spokesperson did not respond immediately to a request for comment on the California Post. California news industry veteran Jonathan Weber said the state's newspapers adhere to a mainstream approach to journalism, which could present an opportunity for a different kind of voice that reflects this moment in the country's evolution. "Maybe there is room for a sort of pugilistic, more right-wing, kind of sensationalist sort of approach," said Weber, a former Reuters editor and serial entrepreneur who founded the San Francisco Standard and the tech business-focused Industry Standard. "There might be an opening for that." But he said the California Post also faces challenges. The New York Post is popular with readers who buy the tabloid at a newsstand before jumping on the subway, whereas Californians tend to drive to work, Weber said. Giancola said the New York Post Media Group has a much broader reach online than through its print edition, via a trio of digital brands including celebrity-focused Page Six, an entertainment -and pop-culture guide, the Decider and its main website. These sites attracted a combined 90 million monthly unique visitors in June, the company said. The Post achieved profitability in 2022 by monetizing these audiences, and running a "lean" news operation, Giancola said. It also has expanded into new formats, including podcasts, video and e-commerce. "L.A. and California - like a lot of geographical areas in the country - are news deserts," said Giancola. "We think we can come into L.A. with the same formula and really cover California in a bespoke way." Ken Doctor, the California-based CEO of Lookout Local, a community journalism organization, said the New York Post could simply rebrand the tabloid for California and boost its readership and advertising. It could also fill a void for a niche set of readers in a state that is dominated by left-wing politicians but where 38% voted for President Donald Trump in the last election. "There is a place for a culturally conservative publication, and one that is populist and fits the populist times," said Doctor. Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong has said he plans to bring in more conservative voices as he seeks "balance" to correct what he perceives as a left-leaning bias ahead of an initial public offering of the publication within the next year. The loss-making 143-year-old newspaper laid off more than 20% of its newsroom staff in January 2024.
Daily Mail
9 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Californians offered $10,000 to move to city in Oklahoma
'Sun-soaked Californians are being lured to Tulsa, Oklahoma, with a $10,000 cash bonus and promises of a more affordable cost of living. The Tulsa Remote relocation program has already attracted more than 3,600 transplants to the city, with around 15 percent coming straight from California. It's a competitive program with an acceptance rate of about three percent - which is lower than Harvard University.' 'But the package offers recipients a chance at a new life in a city where they can truly "have it all," advocates say. And the conservative politics within Oklahoma and Tulsa specifically has not deterred applicants from blue states.' 'They struck up a conversation with a friendly woman who described the town as "weird, funky and creative", and just like that, Landers was sold. They left behind a one-bedroom, one-bathroom rental in North Hollywood in December 2021, where they had been paying $1,900 per month. After scouring about 10 properties in Tulsa, they purchased an 1,800-square-foot, three-bedroom, two-bath home with a decent sized backyard for $171,000.' '"I wanted to invest in my financial future, and I feel like I couldn't do that in LA," she said. One of the requirements of the program is to maintain a remote job, which Landers did. Since arriving in Tulsa, she's been blown away by the lack of traffic and that she has discovered "a quality of life you didn't know you needed."' '"It's a big city with a small-town feel," she said. In addition to the remote job, applicants must take part in a 30-minute interview and agree to a background check and income verification process. The program is primarily seeking applicants who are interested in living in Tulsa beyond the 12-month requirement, according to managing director Justin Harlan.' 'He said successful applicants will show interest in participating in the community and will help the city diversify the talent pool. In the seven years since the program was launched, about 90 percent of participants have stayed longer than 12 months. About 75 percent remain there today. The average age of participants is 35, split evenly between men and women, and the average salary is $100,000.' 'Many small and mid-size towns struggled to retain their populations in the 2010s and so started offering these programs in 2018 to attract new homeowners and prevent talent from fleeing to major metro areas. The timing was ideal. In 2020, as pandemic lockdowns forced companies to embrace remote work, employees began rethinking where they lived. At the same time, housing costs soared nationwide. The national median home price neared $500,000 and mortgage interest rates climbed above 6 percent. It made homeownership unattainable for millions of Americans, especially in high-cost cities.'
