More Cities Must Be On Offense: California Winning Fight Against Soaring Bills

Southern California led the grassroots charge to help the state with energy affordability. Others should follow their lead. 

California proved what’s possible when local leadership and state action move in sync.

After years of stalled debates and growing frustration over rising utility bills, the state has finally taken bold action to rein in unchecked rate hikes. A few months ago, Governor Newsom signed reforms that limit utility profits from safety upgrades, ban the use of ratepayer dollars for lobbying, tighten oversight of wildfire spending, and use public financing to prevent rate spikes. Together, these changes represent a major step toward accountability and fairness.

This success didn’t emerge from a sudden shift in Sacramento politics. Instead, it grew from the steady pressure of local leaders who demanded action when their residents could no longer bear the weight of broken promises and ballooning rates.

Southern California leaders, advocates, and community members spent countless hours building momentum for reform at the local level. 

In recent months, jurisdictions across California have passed resolutions and pushed back against an energy system that no longer works. In San Diego County, the City of San Diego, National City, and Buena Park, officials amplified what families have been saying for years: the system is rigged, and the costs keep climbing.

The support of the state’s second-largest jurisdictions carried enormous weight, marking a rare moment where local governments united to demand fairness and block utility profiteering.  Collectively, these jurisdictions represent over 3 million residents. Their support sent the clear message that enough is enough. Californians are fed up with this system that prioritizes utility profits over people, and they are taking action to change it.

This bottom-up policymaking, grounded in lived experience, propelled by public pressure, and focused on affordability, works. 

That local chorus reached Sacramento, and lawmakers listened. 

And in a moment when Washington gridlock has become the norm, that kind of leadership is needed more than ever. Across the country, communities can’t afford to wait for Congress to act — not on energy, not on housing, not on climate. The problems people face every day demand solutions that start close to home, where urgency meets accountability.

The path to change begins in our communities, in churches, in schools, in city halls, and in community meetings where people refuse to settle for inaction. 

When cities lead, states follow. And when enough states lead, Washington will have no choice but to catch up.