Utility UPDATE
Recent Wins in Utility Costs Amid Our Critical Need for Reform
Late last month, Gavin Newsom signed a five-bill utility package into law. The bills aim to address ever-growing utility costs, enhance reliability, and advance climate goals. This is all coming in a time of increasing mistrust in Investor-Owned Utility Companies and decades of rate-payer-harming decisions.
The package includes AB 825, along with others. This is the same bill addressed in our last post. It establishes a new Public Transmission Financing Fund that doesn’t saddle ratepayers with critical grid updates. It has the potential to save Californians millions of dollars on their utility bills. After decades of utility companies finance projects on the backs of their customers, this is a step toward public control, accountability, and a system that fosters human flourishing.
Unfortunately, SB 332 didn’t make this round of bills. It would have banned shutoffs for vulnerable groups and explored utilities entering the nonprofit, community-led models. Even though it didn’t pass this year, it opened a door and got people talking. It is expected to return in 2026.
Looking at what did pass: four more energy and climate-related bills. First, SB 254 focuses on much-needed wildfire safety. It strengthens the Wildfire Fund by creating a Continuation Account to extend the fund beyond its original expiration, allowing it to continue paying for damages and prevention. Additionally, it bars utilities from earning returns on the first $6 billion of fire-risk mitigation spending and demands greater transparency in prevention efforts. This kind of oversight is overdue.
Both AB 1207 and SB 840 handle California’s cap-and-trade program. They extend the program through 2045 and restructure the credits so that they are applied during high-bill months, providing more relief. They’ll generate revenue that can be allocated to statewide affordable housing, public transit, wildfire prevention, clean drinking water, and clean energy projects. This takes money out of corporations’ hands and puts it into the publics.
SB 237 ventures into gasoline prices and fuel supply. It aims to reduce price spikes by diversifying California’s fuel sources (supporting domestic production over imports) and implementing stricter regulations for idle oil pipelines. It also addresses the need for protection in communities living near petroleum wells. This signals recognition of environmental injustices though the need for mitigation remains.
And just this past weekend, Governor Newsom signed an additional bill that will ban the use of ratepayer dollars for political lobbying and marketing. AB 1167 will also strengthen enforcement against unlawful use of ratepayer funds. The measure followed reporting from The Sacramento Bee, which showed that SoCalGas was using ratepayer dollars to undermine policies meant to combat climate change. Companion bill SB 24 would have gone further, prohibiting utilities from using ratepayer funds to oppose publicly-owned utilities, but it was vetoed.
So, in the grand scheme of things, where does this package put us? It’s a start. It’s not overly optimistic to say that this could mark the beginning of a shift away from unchecked corporate control of our energy systems. The Bills’ passing is just the beginning; actual implementation and enforcement are the greater challenge. These are wins; our progress is reliant on everyone’s attention and prioritization to ensure these bills aren’t watered down or ignored.
As we celebrate, California’s utility challenges are far from over.
The fight for fair, affordable utilities will continue on all fronts, along with our efforts to combat climate change.
Sawyer Patten- CERF Intern
