Win: Lower Bills | Climate Action Campaign

California leaders just approved a series of state bills that increase regulations on utility monopolies like SDG&E, PG&E, and SCE. These bills are designed to increase utility accountability, curb utility overspending, and accelerate the clean energy transition.

We mobilized support in Southern California to help these bills cross the finish line. Eight local governments joined relentless community advocates in backing these bills by applying direct pressure on state leaders.

Thanks to your overwhelming calls, emails, local government resolutions, and persistent advocacy, state lawmakers couldn't look away. On September 30th, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed the majority of these critical bills.

Serena Pelka and Anthony Dang with Climate Action Campaign.jpg

Win: California
Energy Reform

California passed our energy reform package that tackles soaring utility profits and sets the stage for lower bills!

Local governments that joined the fight:

San Diego City

San Diego County

Irvine

Santa Ana

Chula Vista

Costa Mesa

Laguna Beach

Buena Park

Governor Newsom signed these bills to:

✅ (Passed) Transparent Rate Requests: Forces regulators to reveal the exact math and profit margins utilities can charge families (AB 2463).

❌ (Vetoed) Billing Transparency: Requires utilities to reveal hidden fee formulas for clean energy users so billing errors can be caught (AB 1761).

✅ (Passed) Grid Oversight: Appoints independent watchdogs to audit utility power projects, eliminate delays, and lower overall buildout costs (AB 2493).

✅ (Passed) Public Hearing Protections: Bans automated AI bots from spamming public utility hearings, keeping the focus on real resident voices (SB 1159).
✅ (Passed) Limits Utility Profits: Requires the CPUC to consider reducing utility profits on certain types of spending, ensures we are fully using the existing grid, and identifies alternative methods of financing new electric equipment (SB 905).

✅ (Passed) Disincentivized Overspending: Prevents utilities from forcing families to pay for their off-budget expenses without prior approval (SB 1098).
✅ (Passed) Home Power Payouts: Pays homeowners fairly when their electric vehicles and home batteries feed power back into the grid (SB 913).

✅ (Passed) Gas Infrastructure: Protects ratepayers by forcing gas companies to explore cheaper electric alternatives before repairing costly gas pipelines (SB 1359).

✅ (Passed) Data Centers Pay Their Own Way: Forces tech data centers to pay for their own power line upgrades and clean energy instead of pushing costs onto household bills (SB 886).

❌ (Vetoed) Community Solar for All: Fixes California’s community solar rules so renters and low-income families can get clean, cheap, local energy (AB 1813).

✅ (Passed) Energy Choice: Offers Californians the option to voluntarily transition to clean, electric appliances rather than having their aging gas service pipelines replaced by default (AB 2313).

✅ (Passed) Balcony Solar: Gives renters and homeowners the right to use simple, plug-in balcony solar panels to lower electric bills (SB 868).