Eric Swalwell took $100K out of PG&E as he raised rates

Rep. Eric Swalwell, the Democratic front-runner for governor of California, is insisting to voters that he will cut utilities to reduce rising energy costs — but has spent a fortune in campaign cash from the state’s largest supplier.

Swalwell raised more than $113,000 from PG&E workers through his congressional campaign and PAC, as the scorned charity raised rates 101% over a decade and included criminal convictions that led some officials to shun donations.

The East Bay congressman has vowed on the campaign trail to be tough on utilities as Californians face the highest energy costs in the country — as well as the highest housing and gas costs.

“As governor, I will respond to resources and expect those who benefit the most to help fix the climate,” Swalwell said.

“We have to have accountability and the demands of companies that are working hard to do everything to cover their lines .. we have to make sure that services are part of making communities whole,” Swalwell said in social media ads.

PG&E’s donations to Swawell — from the PG&E Corporation Employees Energy PAC, which represents the utility’s workers — date back to 2014 and the most recent donation on record came last year.

Swalwell continued to take money from PAC even after the company’s equipment caused the 2018 Camp Fire disaster that killed 85 people and destroyed Paradise, Calif.

The company pleaded guilty to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter after the 17-day fire burned more than 150,000 hectares, which led to the company’s eventual bankruptcy.

The company was convicted of seven counts in 2016 after a pipeline burst in San Bruno, Calif. eight people died and 38 homes were destroyed in the suburbs.

These cases led politicians like Gov. Gavin Newsom and Rep. Nancy Pelosi to avoid campaign contributions from this organization, which is considered violent in many parts of the state.

“Eric Swalwell seems willing to make any promise, break any promise, and take any paycheck to get elected — including PG&E, AIPAC, DHS Contractors, and fossil fuel companies,” said a spokesman for billionaire climate activist Tom Steyer, one of Swalwell’s biggest Democratic rivals.

“Tom Steyer has committed to lowering utility rates by 25% by firing private companies like PG&E, and he’s the only person who can’t do that because he refuses to take his money and owes them nothing.”

California’s electric bills have increased by a total of 39% over the past six years, thanks in part to the devastating wildfires that have ravaged the state.

PG&E, California’s largest investor-owned utility, had 13 pending rate hike requests before the California Public Utilities Commission as of February, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

PG&E said in a press release this month that it expects “average residential electricity prices to be lower in 2026 than in 2025.”

Swalwell said during the campaign that he would lower utility rates and increase clean energy.

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“Democrats have given us the highest electricity bills in the country after Hawaii, almost doubling in the last decade,” former GOP gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton told The Post. “How can we trust a Democrat to do anything about it, especially a PG&E puppet like Gavin Newsom?”

“Eric Swalwell has been taking bribes — sorry, donations — from PG&E for years,” he added.

Recent polls show Swalwell ahead of the Democratic candidates — though two Republicans, former Fox News host Steve Hilton and Riverside Sheriff Chad Bianco, are leading.

Despite pressure from California Democratic Party Chairman Rusty Hicks, only one Democrat dropped out of the race — and many voters were turned away, prompting fears among Dems that voters may face two conservative Republicans in the November election.

California has a nonpartisan primary system, meaning the top two vote-getters in the June primary will advance to the November election.