A Stunt or First Step? Inside California’s Last-Minute Effort to Cut Electric Bills and Streamline Clean Energy

Source: CalMatters  |  By Alejandro Lazo, Julie Cart, and Alejandra Reyes-Velarde

Two other major bills died: SB 1272, which would have fast-tracked renewable energy projects, and SB 1003, which would have increased oversight of utilities’ wildfire costs. Only three of the six energy bills were sent to the governor:  AB 3264, which which will study transmission capacity costs, SB 1420, which streamlines hydrogen facilities, and SB 1142, which prevents power shutoffs for ratepayers with payment plans. 

But Mark Toney, executive director of The Utility Reform Network, supported the measures, saying they are “an important first step towards affordable energy for all California residents.” He has called lowering ratepayers’ costs an urgent priority because the state could lose public support for clean energy.