PG&E 2009 Annual Report Download - page 5

1
A LETTER TO OUR STAKEHOLDERS
Five years ago, we set a new course for PG&E, energized by an ambitious vision, a renewed
focus on values, and a smart and simple strategy. This fusion of vision, values, and strategy has
been the force behind half a decade of dynamism and growth. And it remains as durable and
relevant today as when we first embraced it.
PG&E’s journey over the past five years has been a
remarkable one. Emerging from the turmoil and stigma of
the state’s energy crisis—the lowest time in the company’s
history—we revitalized PG&E’s relationships with our
customers and communities, revamped our operations, and
reclaimed our identity as a standard-bearer for innovation,
collaboration, and progress. Along the way, we
rediscovered the best things about our people and our
culture. At the same time, we openly embraced the need
for new ways of working and thinking about the future of
our business.
Invigorated by this renewal, PG&E has risen to become
one of the industry’s leading performers in recent years.
Our results for customers and shareholders in 2009 built
on this track record once again.
Among our accomplishments were new enhancements
to our infrastructure, major improvements in safety and
reliability, further deployment of smart grid technology,
new commitments to increase renewable energy supplies,
and significant energy savings through our customer energy
efficiency programs.
These and other achievements helped us increase overall
customer satisfaction while also providing a competitive
total return to investors.
Today, looking at 2010 and beyond, our task is to
sustain PG&E’s strong momentum—and to ensure we are
doing so in ways that are in step with and responsive to
shifts and challenges in the economy.
More than any other single factor last year, the business
environment was marked by concern over the recession’s
implications for our customers and communities, which
have been hit with some of America’s worst job-loss and
home-foreclosure rates.
In response, PG&E has stepped up outreach and
provided financial assistance to large numbers of customers
through a wide assortment of programs. Across the
hundreds of communities we serve, we also increased the
support we provide through shareholder-funded charitable
contributions. Last year’s total giving was our highest ever,
consistent with our belief that PG&E’s special privilege as a
utility comes with a unique duty to give back.
Equally critical, we followed through on commitments
to maintain a steady flow of capital investments. This
meant that many local suppliers, contractors, and
subcontractors who count on PG&E as a mainstay of their
business were able to keep doing so. This has been all the
more important in light of decisions by many other
companies to throttle back on new investments and
spending.
Moving forward, one of the biggest roles we expect to
play for customers and communities is to serve as an even
greater force for economic revival and growth.
The investments we are making today in California’s
infrastructure—and those we are seeking permission to
make in the next few years—support new and existing jobs
and put money back into local economies at a moment
when private sector investment is so vital.
But even more important is the broader economic
promise that smart energy investments hold.
Many experts believe that a 21st-century energy
economy will be the backbone for America’s growth and
competitiveness in the decades ahead. We agree. The clean,
highly efficient, and highly reliable energy infrastructure we
are working to build is fundamental to this future.
For these reasons, the downturn has made the job of
modernizing California’s energy economy more pressing,
not less. We believe that state leaders understand this and
will support efforts that strike the right balance between the
pragmatism that immediate challenges dictate and the
continuing investment necessary to ensure a stable, vibrant
economic climate.
For our part, we intend to stay true to the same vision,
values, and strategy that have delivered for customers and
shareholders in recent years. In 2010, we are focused again
on knowing and responding to the unique needs of our
different customers, running our operations with
excellence, working constructively with policymakers and
regulators, demonstrating environmental leadership, and
staying connected with our communities.
This letter outlines examples of the ways we are putting
this strategy into action, the results it is making possible,
and the outlook for the current year and beyond.