Rep. Eric Swalwell, the Democratic frontrunner for California governor, insists to voters that he will crack down on utilities to lower skyrocketing energy costs — but he’s quietly pocketed a fortune in campaign cash from the state’s largest provider.
Swalwell raked in more than $113,000 from employees at PG&E through his congressional campaign and PAC, as the much-despised utility company hiked rates by 101% over a decade and racked up felony convictions that led some officials to shun donations.
The East Bay congressman has vowed on the campaign trail that he will get tough on utilities as Californians face some of the highest energy costs in the country — along with the highest housing and fuel costs.
“As governor, I’ll hold utilities accountable and expect those who profit the most to help fix the climate crisis,” Swalwell said
“We must have accountability and requirements for the utility companies to do everything to cap their lines .. we have to make sure utilities are part of making communities whole,” Swalwell said in social media ads.
PG&E donations to Swawell — from the PG&E Corporation Employees Energy PAC, representing employees of the utility — date back to 2014 and the most recent recorded donation came last year.
Swalwell continued taking money from the PAC even after the firm’s equipment sparked the catastrophic Camp Fire in 2018 that killed 85 people and wiped out Paradise, Calif.
The utility firm pleaded guilty to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter after the 17-day blaze scorched more than 150,000 acres, leading the company to file bankruptcy.
The company was convicted of seven felonies in 2016 after a pipeline explosion in San Bruno, Calif. killed eight people and destroyed 38 homes in a suburban neighborhood.
The convictions led politicians such as Gov. Gavin Newsom and Rep. Nancy Pelosi to shun campaign contributions from the utility, which is considered a monopoly in huge swaths of the state.
“Eric Swalwell seems willing to make any promise, break any promise, and take any check to get elected — including from PG&E, AIPAC, DHS contractors, and fossil fuel companies,” said a spokesperson for billionaire climate activist Tom Steyer, one of Swalwell’s main Democratic rivals.
“Tom Steyer has committed to reducing utility rates by 25% by busting monopolies like PG&E, and he’s the only candidate who can get it done because he refuses to take their money and owes them nothing.”
California electricity bills have skyrocketed by 39% overall over in the past six years, thanks in part to the destructive wildfires that have ripped through the state.
PG&E, the largest investor-owned utility in California, had 13 pending rate hike requests before the California Public Utilities Commission as of February, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
PG&E claimed in a press release this month that it expects “typical residential electric rates to be lower overall in 2026 than in 2025.”
Swalwell has claimed on the campaign trail he will bring down utility rates and increase clean energy.
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“Democrats have given us the highest electric bills in the country after Hawaii, they’ve nearly doubled in the last ten years,” GOP gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton told The Post. “How can we possibly trust a Democrat to do anything about it, especially one who is a PG&E puppet just like Gavin Newsom?”
“Eric Swalwell has been taking bribes — sorry, donations — from PG&E for years,” he added.
Recent polls show Swalwell at the top of the pack of Democratic candidates — though two Republicans, former Fox News Host Steve Hilton and ex-Riverside Sheriff Chad Bianco, are in the lead.
Despite pressure from California Democratic Party Chair Rusty Hicks, only one Democrat has dropped out of the race — and many voters are disengaged, sparking panic among Dems that voters could wind up with two conservative Republicans on the ballot in November.
California has a nonpartisan primary system, meaning the top two vote-getters in the June primary will advance to the November election.
