Steve Hilton’s Populist Energy Message

Until his run for governor petered out, Tom Steyer proudly wore the title of chief power company basher.

In his wake, Republican Steve Hilton has taken up the mantle.

The conservative commentator wants California to “break up [Pacific Gas & Electric’s] monopoly,” according to a policy proposal on his website titled “Ending the PG&E nightmare.”

The bold proposal, which would upend the state’s electricity system, evokes immediate comparison to Steyer, who launched his campaign for governor by promising to “break up the monopolistic power of utilities,” and turned the power companies into one of his main foils.

“I’m always happy to see allies,” Hilton said in an interview. “I do think that there is an overlap of focus, at least, with many on the progressive side of the Democratic party, and that’s where Tom Steyer positions himself, in terms of our focus on working people and the burdens that are being placed on them.”

With his Republican primary rival Chad Bianco a distant memory, Hilton has increasingly leaned into a populist message with energy issues at its core. His X bio touts a promise for $3 per gallon gas. And a recent ad portrays an animated caricature of his Democratic opponent Xavier Becerra dressed as a Roman emperor mocking a working class man for wanting affordable fuel.

Energy is “pretty much the number one issue for Californians because of the costs that they have to face every single day,” Hilton said, highlighting the state’s highest-in-the-nation gasoline costs and No. 2 rank for priciest electricity.

Hilton’s brash promises underline the fact that candidates across the political spectrum competing for many offices in California are reading the same tea leaves: Voters are fed up with paying energy prices far above the national average. And while Steyer made utility-bashing his signature, those who moved on to the general election still see plenty of opportunity to make hay out of the issue.

“I think it’s a smart play by Hilton,” said Jon Fleischman, a longtime California conservative strategist, pointing out that Democrats’ years of control in the state make them vulnerable to criticism on energy prices. And that long-running Democratic winning streak in statewide elections may also be driving Hilton to call for a complete overhaul of the utility system.

“If you’re Steve Hilton, you have to come out with some pretty extreme policy pronouncements if you’re going to get noticed,” Fleischman said.

Unsurprisingly, the details of Hilton’s vision for California’s energy system diverge sharply from Steyer’s. While Steyer touted the promise of renewable energy, Hilton wants to slash California’s current renewable energy requirements, arguing that they have driven electricity rates up. And his plan for $3 gas relies largely on axing environmental programs and regulations on refineries.

It’s worth noting that while state leaders do have the ability to cut fees that increase the price of gas, hitting that $3 mark would likely require a significant drop in the global commodity price of oil, which has skyrocketed since the U.S. attacked Iran. The national average price of gas was around $3 when the war began, according to AAA data, while California’s average hasn’t been that low since oil prices cratered in 2020 during the pandemic.

Though Becerra has embraced affordability messaging himself, Hilton is doing his best to paint him as just another Democrat who will allow the same types of energy price increases that the state has seen in recent years.

"Your energy policy is more of the same ideological climate posturing that doesn't help the environment but does HURT every working family and small business,” Hilton wrote to Becerra on social media last month, calling him “cruel and heartless.”

Becerra spokesperson Jonathan Underland responded to Hilton’s criticisms, writing in a text message that Hilton’s “claims of energy populism are the equivalent of a wolf in sheep’s clothing … Hilton’s support of Trump’s agenda would mean higher prices at the pump, higher illegal tariff taxes, and utilities allowed to price gouge consumers.”

PG&E, which responded to Steyer’s criticism with a wave of political spending trying to sink his bid for governor, has so far signaled little appetite to attack Hilton. And they’re unlikely to, unless they think it could score them points with Becerra, since the Democrat is such an overwhelming favorite to win in November, according to Fleischman.

“We look forward to working with the next governor to modernize the grid, to meet growing energy demand and to support the state's bold climate goals, at the lowest possible cost to our customers,” company spokesperson Lynsey Paulo said in a statement.

While Hilton would have to pull off a remarkable upset to defeat Becerra in deep blue California, Republicans already in power share his feeling that it’s worth rethinking how to manage the state’s electricity grid.

“I haven’t called for [PG&E’s] breakup, [but] I do think we need to look at drastically reforming how we do utility monopolies in California,” said Rep. James Gallagher, whose district stretches across the Northeast of the state. “I think that breaking up a monopoly is a very Republican thing.”