SAN FRANCISCO _ Pacific Gas & Electric's second-quarter profits tumbled, the utility reported Thursday _ but its bottom line could soon be bolstered when a big increase in monthly gas bills arrive for residential customers starting in early August.
The embattled utility told analysts on a conference call Thursday that customers will soon see higher costs for natural gas in their monthly statements. Those more-expensive bills should begin arriving around Aug. 1.
The earnings results, which fell short of Wall Street's estimates, come at the same time that the embattled utility faces a jury decision about its guilt or innocence for its actions before and after a fatal explosion in San Bruno, a city just south of San Francisco.
Forbidding challenges, including regulatory decisions, the impact of fines tied to multiple incidents, and the outcome of the criminal trial, loom over PG&E's prospects.
PG&E earned $206 million for the quarter that ended in June. That was down 48.8 percent from profits of $402 million in the year-ago quarter.
PG&E earned 41 cents a share, down from 83 cents a share in the 2015 second quarter.
Excluding an array of one-time regulatory and legal items, earnings from operations were 66 cents a share. But the operating earnings were well below predictions from analysts of 94 cents a share.
"Our focus on operational excellence drove solid results in the second quarter," Anthony Earley, PG&E's chief executive officer, said in a prepared release.
Revenue totaled $4.17 billion, down 1.1 percent from the year-ago second quarter. Electricity revenue totaled $3.47 billion, up a fraction from the year before. Gas revenue totaled $704 million in the second quarter, down 6.6 percent.
The revenue from gas could soon change, however. A state Public Utilities Commission decision in June cleared the way for PG&E to impose sharply higher monthly bills on its customers.
By 2018, gas bills will be 11.6 percent higher than they were in January 2015. The vast majority of that increase is expected to be in effect in August.
As of January 2015, monthly average residential bills were $50.89. By 2018, the average monthly gas bill for residential customers would rise to $56.79, the PUC estimated.
What's more, PG&E told the analysts that it expects to file proposals on Friday for rate changes connected to its electricity transmission system.
San Francisco-based PG&E listed several expenses associated with costs for its aging system of natural gas pipelines, as well as fines and penalties connected with a slew of regulatory and legal proceedings.
Among the one-time items for the second quarter:
_$172 million in costs connected with penalties imposed by the PUC to punish PG&E for causing the deadly San Bruno explosion, fines connected to a PUC investigation into PG&E's record-keeping practices, and money that shareholders will be forced to pay for pipeline repairs.
_$27 million for pipeline related expenses.
_$14 million for legal and regulatory costs connected with multiple proceedings.
Despite the uncertainties, PG&E offered a more rosy outlook for future earnings.
PG&E predicted that its full-year profits will range from $2.83 to $3.15 a share. Previously, the company had predicted profits for 2016 would range from $2.41 to $2.73 a share.
The changes come primarily from the company's estimates for the timing of revenue it will receive through sharply payments from customers for natural gas, as well as the cost of a wildfire in the Gold Country known as the Butte fire.
"The progress we continue to make reaffirms our confidence in PG&E's future," Earley said.
