SoCal Edison reports $619 million in Q1 profits as electricity rates soar

A year after the company’s equipment is suspected of starting deadly Eaton Fire, SoCal Edison brings in huge profit

ROSEMEAD, CA – SoCal Edison reported first-quarter earnings of $619 million.* The announcement comes weeks after SoCal Edison disclosed $4.9 billion in profits in 2025 – a 200% increase from 2024 — a year in which CEO Pedro Pizarro received a 20% pay raise totaling over $16.6 million, even as state investigators suspected company equipment of sparking the deadly Eaton Fire.

SoCal Edison’s soaring profits are financed by California families who have seen their bills increase by 101% over the past ten years. As a result, over 800,000 SCE customers are behind on their energy bills.

Much of the company’s 2025 profits and future profits surge stem from charging customers for wildfires that the state investigators determined the utility itself caused. The CPUC authorized SCE to recover $3.7 billion from ratepayers for costs related to the 2018 Woolsey Fire and 2017 Thomas Fire and resulting mudslides—and according to Edison International’s 2025 SEC filing, SCE collected just over $2 billion of that from customers last year alone. Customers will continue to shoulder wildfire costs for SCE through 2026 and beyond.

Consumer, environmental, and environmental justice groups released the following quotes in response:

“Millions of SoCal Edison customers are struggling to keep the lights on while the company posts significant profits driven in part by a system that shifts wildfire costs onto ratepayers,” said Jose Torres of the Affordable Energy Campaign. “This isn’t inevitable, it’s the result of how we’ve structured utility incentives. California’s leaders can fix it by reining in profits and ending the model that allows utilities to benefit from wildfire-related spending.”

“Southern California Edison’s increasingly massive profits and skyrocketing rates (despite potentially having sparked the deadly Eaton Fire) are a glaring example of how utilities continue to profit at the expense of struggling families,” said Mark Toney, Executive Director of The Utility Reform Network (TURN). “Our state leaders need to take decisive action to rein in excessive profits and ensure that utilities are transparent about their costs and are held accountable for their role in this affordability crisis. Families should not have to choose between paying their electricity bills and other basic needs.”

“SoCal Edison’s profits should align with providing benefits for energy customers. But as energy bills and profits skyrocket, the company is failing on safety and affordability,” said Jenn Engstrom, State Director of CALPIRG. “It’s time for the legislature and Public Utilities Commission to take action to address outrageous profits, excessive spending and fire prevention.”

“Every day we hear from Orange County families about how they are struggling to pay their bills. And every day, SoCalEdison is trying to think of ways to make more money off those families. That has to end.” said Ayn Craciun, OC Policy Director of Climate Action Campaign.

“At Southern California Edison, it is profit before people. Electricity is a necessity that too many SCE Customers can no longer afford. Households are struggling to make ends meet. SCE disconnected hundreds of thousands of customers last year while the CEO made $16.6 Million. Fires burned down neighborhoods and destroyed lives, with the US Justice Department believing SCE is responsible. Unfortunately for SCE customers and fire victims, profit seems to be a higher priority than people,” said John Smigelski, Project Director, California Alliance for Community Energy. “With profits doubling to $4.9 Billion last year, it is time the Governor and his regulators begin to give more than lip service to energy affordability by controlling energy costs and holding SCE responsible for their actions.”

“Oxnard is home to multiple power plants, and our largely immigrant working class community has not historically seen a benefit from sharing space with these energy industries without fighting for it. We fight and fight to make sure our people are not an after-thought from these large polluting industries. But the accountability does not start and stop with power plants, we are obligated to also ask for better transparency and people-centered practices from IOUs! Companies continue to choose profit over people. Communities like ours should not have to fight so that industries and IOUs consider people’s lives and be responsible businesses. It seems that the fight for dignified and healthy lives never ends,” said Odette Moran, organizer with CAUSE.

*The earnings numbers correspond to the company’s “net income available to common stock,” as listed in its SEC filings, which is the total net profit minus its preferred stock dividend requirements.

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