Detailed pay and retirement data for California's major utilities, sourced from IBEW-PG&E, UWUA-SCE, and EUUC-SDG&E contracts. Includes LADWP and SMUD (publicly-owned utilities) with their own pension systems.
California's utility workers are among the highest-paid blue-collar employees in the state. A journeyman lineman at PG&E or Southern California Edison makes $130,000-$170,000 base, before substantial overtime. Storm response and wildfire-season work routinely doubles take-home pay. Plus traditional defined-benefit pensions at PG&E and SCE — which survive at private utilities long after most private-sector employers have switched to 401(k)-only plans.
This database covers the four investor-owned utilities (PG&E, SCE, SDG&E, SoCalGas) plus the two largest publicly-owned utilities (LADWP, SMUD). Each has its own contract and pension structure:
For someone considering a utility career, this is the data that matters: not just the hourly base, but the pension multiplier, the retiree-health coverage, and the post-storm OT history. The database shows all of it.
Step 1 — Pick your utility. Investor-owned (PG&E, SCE, SDG&E, SoCalGas) or public (LADWP, SMUD). Pay scales and pension structures differ substantially.
Step 2 — Pick your job. Lineman, gas tech, dispatch, customer service, engineer, operations specialist. Each has its own pay scale within each utility.
Step 3 — Review the total package. Base pay, OT history, pension structure (DB benefit factor or DC employer match), retiree health coverage, vacation accrual. Utility benefits are some of the richest in California outside UC.
Filter by utility, job (lineman, gas tech, customer service, engineer), and union local. Each entry shows base pay, OT structure, and the pension plan (DB vs DC) that applies.
Open the database →Yes — PG&E maintains its Final Pay Pension Plan (DB) for all employees, including new hires. Formula: 1.7% × years of service × highest 36-month average pay. Pension vests at 5 years. PG&E also matches 75% of the first 8% of 401(k) contributions, layered on top of the pension. This combination — DB pension + 401(k) match — is increasingly rare in the private sector.
Per the IBEW Local 1245 contract: journeyman lineman base wage in 2026 is approximately $62-$68/hr depending on classification. Annualized at 40 hrs/week, that's $130k-$142k base. Total compensation with typical overtime (~25-40% of base from storm and emergency response) brings the realistic annual figure to $160k-$200k, plus the pension and 401(k) benefits.
LADWP uses LACERS (LA City Employees' Retirement System), which is the city of LA's own pension system separate from CalPERS. Same general formula structure (service × age factor × final comp), but LACERS has its own tiers, COLA rules, and contribution rates. LACERS is generally similar to CalPERS Classic for richness. SMUD, on the other hand, IS CalPERS-covered (SMUD opted into the state system).
Mostly yes. PG&E's 2019 bankruptcy explicitly preserved the pension plan — it's an ERISA plan insured by the PBGC up to ~$94k/year per participant (2026 limit). SCE, SDG&E, and SoCalGas pensions are similarly ERISA-protected. The risk isn't outright termination — it's freezing the plan for new hires (SDG&E froze for new hires in 2018) or reducing future accruals. Already-earned benefits are very hard to cut under ERISA.