Disconnection and Reconnection Protections - SB 1142

SB 1142 (Menjivar) Disconnection and Reconnection Protections

Author: Senator Caroline Menjivar (District 20 – Dem)

Summary

SB 1142 protects Californians who are behind on their electricity bills by barring investor-owned utilities (IOUs) from charging more than 20% in arrears for reconnecting their service. Additionally, it will codify the California Public Utilities Commission (CUPC) prohibition on residential reconnection fees.

Issue

California is facing an energy insecurity crisis, with California ratepayers paying increasingly unaffordable rates. Even with arrearage forgiveness, about 2.4 million customers of California’s three largest utilities are behind on their bills to the tune of $2 billion in energy debt. This amounts to one in four customers of the major IOUs being energy insecure.

While lower-income residents can access a moderately discounted rate, these discounts have not been enough to blunt the impact of the steep rate increases. This affordability crisis has resulted in more and more customers being in jeopardy of getting shut off. Further, there are no rules or statutory requirements in place to ensure that ratepayers have an affordable option for reconnection of service. Currently, utilities impose reconnection protocols on a case-by-case basis. The utilities may request significantly high payments to restore service, which is simply not doable for many low-income households. As a result, an electricity shutoff is prolonged, and the health and well-being of families and children are compromised.

The CPUC has adopted rules governing disconnections and directed the establishment of payment plans. These are helpful tools but insufficient in the face of the current crisis for their failure to establish rules for reconnections or penalties for non-compliance.

Solution

SB 1142 codifies the CPUC’s prohibition on residential utility reconnection fees. It mandates that IOUs amortize at minimum 24 months (about 2 years) of a customer’s past-due amount for electric and gas services. This bill also limits the required amounts to avoid disconnection or to be reconnected to up to 20% of the past due amount and mandates that IOUs reconnect services within 24 hours if the customer pays the required amount to have their services restored.