Source: San Diego Post | By Jacob Shelton

“There are thousands of Californians going through this,” said Regina Costa of the Utility Reform Network. “These women are the canaries in the coal mine.” Some people in their 80s or 90s don’t have someone to back them up or advocate for their rights. No phone service could be the difference between life and death.

In 2024, the L.A. City Council formed a task force with LAPD and the Bureau of Street Lighting. Since then, 82 arrests have been made, and over 2,000 pounds of stolen copper wire has been recovered. Still, repair costs have already surpassed $17 million, and outages continue. Consumer advocates say the problem is compounded by AT&T’s ongoing push to phase out landline services altogether. The company recently tried—and failed—to eliminate its obligation to provide basic phone service statewide. Critics say the company is dragging its feet on repairs to make landlines appear obsolete.

Source:The Community Voice| By Staff

The Utility Reform Network (TURN) and the Campaign for Affordable Power (CAP) coalition gathered outside of the Capitol today to urge Governor Newsom and lawmakers to stand up against utility pressure and support the Campaign for Affordable Power (CAP) bill package and the long-promised Senate affordability package, now SB 254. The Utility Reform Network led efforts alongside coalition members AARP, the California Large Energy Consumers Association, the Agricultural Energy Consumers Association, California Farm Bureau, California Metals Coalition, California Community Choice Association, and the Small Business Utility Advocates. “SB 254 and the CAP measures together deliver both the structural reforms we need to rein in runaway utility costs and the immediate bill relief families deserve. We thank Senate leaders for moving SB 254 forward. Now it’s time for Governor Newsom and the Legislature to act so Californians see lower bills this year and beyond,” said Mark Toney, executive director of The Utility Reform Network. 

“Energy affordability isn’t just a concern for households. Farmers and ranchers are feeling the pressure too. Agricultural customers have seen similar rate increases, but with fewer options to manage or reduce those costs,” said Kevin Johnston, Director and Counsel at the California Farm Bureau. “Because farmers and ranchers can’t simply raise prices to cover these expenses, it often leads to consolidation, fewer California-grown products and less investment in on-farm improvements like electrification. That runs counter to California’s climate goals and efforts to strengthen local food security.” “The California Large Energy Consumers Association represents energy intensive industries that produce goods essential for daily life, such as critical infrastructure, oxygen for hospitals, and food distribution. To compete with companies outside California and abroad, power must be affordable; yet California’s soaring electric rates, three times higher than neighboring states, make this increasingly difficult,” said Bruce Magnani with CLECA (California Large Energy Consumers Association). “Failure to enable competitively produced essential manufactured goods in California is an abdication of our state’s leadership as the world’s fifth-largest economy, drives up global emissions due to emissions leakage, and hinders efforts to electrify and decarbonize industrial processes. California’s staggeringly high industrial electricity rates demand urgent action.

Source: ABC 7 KABC, Los Angeles | By Carlos Granda

"This has been a concerted effort on their part to switch people over to other types of services, but the reality is, those services are not as reliable," said Regina Costa with the The Utility Reform Network (TURN). During the January wildfires, there were some cell phone service issues in the affected areas. Costa worries that without landlines in a future emergency, this could be a major issue. "A big earthquake will knock out power for quite a long time, and as cell towers lose power and more traffic is concentrated over the remaining towers, you can't even use them," Costa said.

After our report, more than a dozen people contacted us, saying it also happened to them. All in the South Los Angeles area. Robbie Brown hasn't had home phone service since September of 2024. She suffered a stroke and is paralyzed on one side, which is why she can't use a cell phone and needs an emergency alert system where all she has to do is press a button in an emergency. The problem? It doesn't work without a landline. Mabel Bush also has a medical alert system. She says AT&T offered an internet-based service, but that also doesn't work. "Fix it so we can be safe," Bush said. The company has said it wants to end some of its landline service across the country, though last year, the California Public Utilities Commission voted to not allow that.

Source: Politico | By Blanca Begert

But ratepayer advocacy group The Utility Reform Network, which backs Calderon’s push to slash net metering, wholeheartedly supports Ward’s bill — precisely because it relies on the CPUC’s updated crediting formula and would also give customers a less expensive solar option to buy into. “I wouldn’t be surprised if the Legislature passed that bill all the way through, because this is them clarifying what they had already directed the commission to do,” said Matt Freedman, an attorney at TURN. “Will the governor sign the bill? That’s a different question.”

Assemblymember Lisa Calderon knew she was opening a can of worms when she introduced AB 942, a bill aimed at addressing rising electricity rates by reducing payments to rooftop solar customers. It would cut incentives when paneled homes are sold and would end cap-and-trade rebates for solar customers, saving $3.6 billion between now and 2043, she said. Assemblymember Chris Ward’s AB 1260 builds on his 2022 bill, AB 2316, which directed the CPUC to create a statewide community storage and solar program. 

Source: Politico| By Blanca Begert, Camille Von Kaenel, Alex Nieves

Another big Becker bill — SB 540, to pave the way to California’s participation in a West-wide grid — is also looking good to clear its Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday. Becker will take amendments to address some of the concerns raised by groups like TURN, including ones to clarify California’s ability to withdraw from the regional energy market if Trump tries to meddle in it, although TURN’s position remains “oppose unless amended.” ON OUR RADAR: Net metering round two: Assemblymember Lisa Calderon has been amassing support from labor groups, electric utilities and TURN for her proposal, AB 942, to limit incentives for some of the state’s earliest rooftop solar owners, a measure she says will spread the costs of maintaining the grid more evenly and save average Californians money on their utility bills. 

The energy affordability bill to rule them all, Sen. Josh Becker’s sweeping SB 254 that he launched last week to tackle skyrocketing electricity rates, will likely get through its hearing Tuesday in the Energy and Utilities Committee, which Becker chairs.

Source: RTO Insider | By Henrik Nilsson

The Utility Reform Network (TURN) is finding some success in getting California state lawmakers to address the group’s concerns about what the Trump administration might do if the Golden State moves forward with plans to hand over control of CAISO’s energy markets to an independent regional organization. Democratic Sen. Josh Becker, who introduced the Pathways bill [SB 540], has said he will convene a group to address the consumer advocacy organization TURN’s concerns with the proposed legislation. In its public comments on the bill, TURN submitted a position of opposition that stands unless the bill is amended. Writing in opposition to the bill, Matthew Freedman, staff attorney for TURN, wrote that handing power over CAISO’s wholesale energy markets to an independent RO while opening the door to other market actors in the West “may expose California customers to new risks that could prove difficult to mitigate.” In an email to RTO Insider, Freedman said: “Our goal is to ensure that the scope and role of Regional Organization is clearly defined in state law and that California has the right to withdraw under a variety of circumstances. We are extremely concerned about the potential for the federal government to make changes to the regional energy markets that would undermine California’s clean energy and decarbonization goals.”

The group asked for amendments to address the following points:

• Ensure the RO’s tariffs permit California to withdraw utilities from the regional market without penalties or need for approval by FERC.

• Clarify that the RO cannot set “any requirements relating to resource adequacy, reserve margins or reliability.” Additionally, the RO should not be allowed to rely on a centralized capacity market or separate markets for dispatchable, firm and intermittent resources. This is to prevent the federal government from intervening in wholesale markets to provide incentives for coal and gas generation.

• Give the California Public Utilities Commission power to direct investor-owned utilities to withdraw from the RO if it violates any of the obligations under SB 540 or implements changes that could harm consumers.

• Require utilities to withdraw from the RO if a court rules that California resource planning policies discriminate against out-of-state resources.

• Similarly, utilities must withdraw if the federal government takes action that would lead to California consumers subsidizing fossil fuels.

• Require utilities to withdraw “if a Joint Concurrent resolution is passed by the State Assembly and State Senate.”

• Clarify that the Renewables Portfolio Standard “requirements relating to energy delivery from resources outside of a California Balancing Authority must satisfy strict standards including the use of dynamic scheduling, pseudo ties or firm transmission rights.”

Source: East Bay Times| By George Avalos

“PG&E’s monthly bills are still way too high,” said Mark Toney, executive director of consumer group The Utility Reform Network. “Monthly bills are up 70% from just a few years ago.” In January 2020, PG&E monthly bills were roughly $175 a month for combined services. Monthly bills this past January for customers who receive combined electricity and gas services from PG&E were $295. Toney argues that consumers experienced huge yearly increases because state regulators allowed PG&E to charge customers too much for wildfire mitigation work that should have been done sooner. “PG&E was allowed to overspend for wildfire mitigation,” he said.

Monthly electric bills for the typical customer averaged about $215 in March, down 3.2% from an average of $222 in March 2024, PG&E reported in a recent post about trends in bills. Despite the slight decline, current bill levels in recent years have soared far higher than customers previously experienced.

Source: Lake County News | By Lake County News Reports

“It is clear from the polling data that California residents expect their elected representatives to take action now, and pass legislation that will limit utility overspending, trim record-breaking corporate profits, support public financing to reduce long-term costs, and provide short-term ratepayer relief,” said Mark Toney, executive director of The Utility Reform Network. The Utility Reform Network, or TURN, and EnviroVoters are supporting the Campaign for Affordable Power bill package:
• AB 1167 (Berman, Addis) Prohibits utility misspending of ratepayer dollars.
• AB 1020 (Schiavo): Prevents double-charging and boosts accountability.
• SB 636 (Menjivar): Provides hardship deferments to vulnerable customers.
• SB 330 (Padilla): Promotes alternative financing for transmission to reduce costs.

California utility consumers are demanding lawmakers rein in skyrocketing rates and hold for-profit investor owned utilities accountable, according to new polling data from David Binder Research released by The Utility Reform Network and California Environmental Voters.

• 82% of California voters are concerned about the cost of their monthly electric bill.
• 79% of California voters agree the government should do more to limit price increases.
• 93% of California voters agree utilities should not charge customers for wasteful spending, including lobbying, PR, and marketing campaigns.

Source: The Mercury News/ Bay Area News Group| By Grant Stringer

The influential consumer advocacy group The Utility Reform Network supports the bill for its combination of long-term cost reductions for ratepayers and immediate relief, executive director Mark Toney said in an email.

The most influential bill introduced so far this session is Becker’s Senate Bill 254, which was released in its expanded form on Tuesday. The bill is intended to give ratepayers relief by paying for some projects with other sources of funds, expand subsidies for low-income residents and provide all customers with credits to use during summer months when bills are priciest. It would also expand oversight and transparency of rate increases and utilities’ profits.

Source: New Project Media | By Michelle France

“We strongly support AB 1260 in order to clean up the mess that the PUC has created in its flawed implementation of AB 2316,” said Matthew Freedman, an attorney for The Utility Reform Network (TURN). “The PUC’s refusal to implement AB 2316 as intended by this legislature represents a huge missed opportunity,” Freedman continued. “As of today, major elements of the PUC’s alternative approach are unclear, require further development and seem highly unlikely to lead to a successful program. AB 1260 would eliminate any ambiguities in current law by requiring all community renewable generation serving subscribers to be compensated using the Commission’s own avoided cost calculator which serves as the primary method for determining the value of exported electricity to the distribution system, and is used already to compensate customers participating in the Net Value Billing Tariff.” AB 1260 would also require all eligible projects to include four hours of energy storage at the same capacity of the renewable energy generation, but the PUC rejected that idea, Freedman said. “We strongly disagree. Energy storage provides significant value to the system—they need to be included in the community program,” Freedman said. Furthermore, Freedman argued that new residential construction must include onsite solar or an alternative compliance through participation in a community program under the Title 24 Building Code. About 400 MW a year of new community solar will be needed to serve as the compliance option. “Installing 1,000 MW of community solar under this proposal would save USD 7bn over 25 years compared to installing that same amount on the rooftop as would be required under Title 24. For those reasons we think this bill makes a lot of sense and will be a ratepayer savings measure,” Freedman said.

The California State Assembly Committee on Utilities and Energy approved a bill that would revise or retract the Community Renewable Energy Program (CREP) adopted by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) last spring. The committee voted by 13-1 in favor of Assembly Bill (AB) 1260 at an April 23 meeting. The legislation, introduced by Assemblymember Christopher Ward, D-78 will now head to the Committee on Appropriations for approval.

Source: GV Wire, Fresno| By Nancy Price

“It is clear from the polling data that California residents expect their elected representatives to take action now, and pass legislation that will limit utility overspending, trim record-breaking corporate profits, support public financing to reduce long-term costs, and provide short-term ratepayer relief,” Mark Toney, executive director of The Utility Reform Network, said in a news release Thursday. The Utility Reform Network, a Bay-Area based advocacy nonprofit, is scheduled to hold a news conference at noon Thursday in front of the state Capitol with a coalition that includes the AARP, California Large Energy Consumers Association, California Farm Bureau, and Small Business Utility Advocate urging California legislators to proceed with affordability legislation.

A new survey of California voters shows that most blame utility company spending and profit-taking for skyrocketing electricity costs. According to the survey results, there was overwhelming agreement on some key issues:

• 93% said wasteful spending by utility companies, including for lobbying, PR, and marketing campaigns, needs to be reined in.

• 90% said AI data centers need to pay their fair share.

• 90% said modernized building codes are needed to ensure energy efficiency.

• 85% supported rejecting rate increases that lead to excessive profit margins for utility companies.

Source: Fox 40, Sacramento | By Noah Anderson

The Utility Reform Network or TURN, and the Campaign for Affordable Power coalition, gathered on the southside lawn of the State Capitol. “By working together, we are convinced we will be able to make the biggest change when it comes to affordability that California has ever seen,” stated Mark Toney, TURN executive director.

The Campaign for Affordable Power coalition assembles advocates from several sectors, all of whom support Senate Bill 254.  SB 254 aims to protect California consumers from high electricity bills by increasing Investor Owned Utility accountability, and restructuring ratepayer obligations. David Azevedo with AARP California says rate increases are hitting older adults particularly hard.  “We don't want older adults looking at their thermostats and saying, if I turn this up, or if I turn this down, am I not going to be able to food on the table, am I not going to be able to pay for my prescriptions, pay for my rent, my mortgage.”

Source: Fox 26 News, Fresno| By Fox 26 Newstaff

The director of the Utility Reform Network, tells FOX26 the last thing PG&E customers need is to be charged an additional fee just for paying their bills.

Some PG&E customers will be looking at a new fee next month, just for paying their bills. Starting May 9th, residential customers using a credit card will be charged a flat fee of $6.95.

Source: GV Wire/Fresno| By Nancy Price

Mark Toney, executive director of The Utility Reform Network, an advocacy organization based in the Bay Area, was critical of the new fees. “It is shocking to TURN that PG&E wants to charge a customer fee for paying through a checking account, because the transaction costs are so minimal, as compared to costly credit card transaction fees of 3-5%.” he said in an email Friday. “PG&E should know better than to try to sneak in a brand-new customer fee without first filing a (California Public Utilities) Commission request for a rate increase, so that TURN, business groups, and the public can weigh in. PG&E customers, already facing an affordability crisis, shouldn’t have to pay an additional fee “just for paying their bills,” he said.

PG&E is notifying customers that they’ll have to pay transaction fees starting May 19 if they use a bank account, credit card, or debit card to pay their bills. The fee will be $1.50 for residential customers and $6.95 for business customers. It’s unclear why business customers would pay more than residential customers.

Source: KQED| By Nisa Khan

The Utility Reform Network (TURN), a consumer advocacy group based in Oakland, signed a letter with 220 other groups last week demanding that Congress reinstate the laid-off federal employees. “If there’s no one working the program, then if you apply, there’s no one going to process that application,” said Lee Trotman, a spokesperson for TURN. “This is a crisis at the federal level. And it’s going to affect Californians.”

Bay Area consumer advocates are sounding alarms after the Trump administration this month fired the entire staff running a federal program that helps low-income Americans afford to heat and cool their homes. The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) distributes federal funds to help households with their energy needs through services such as providing one-time financial assistance to pay bills, offering emergency help when utilities are disconnected or upgrading homes to make them more energy-efficient.

Source: KCBS Radio | By Bret Burkhart

“PG&E wants to add an additional 1100 miles to the wildfire mitigation plan by 2028, but did not attach a price tag.” When asked about PG&E’s plan, Lee Trotman Communications Director with The Utility Reform Network” said “I’m a little suspicious because last year PG&E had six rate hikes.”  He also said “burying the lines is the most expensive option, and we would rather have them insulate the lines.”

Source:Inside Climate News| By Twilight Greenway

Sylvie Ashford at The Utility Reform Network (TURN) said that utilities owned by investors have a history of attempting to make money off behind-the-meter or customer-side investments and padding projects with more capital investments than necessary to increase their profits. She pointed to a recent neighborhood-scale electrification project at Cal State Monterey, where PG&E proposed paying for the retrofits with its capital budget but met resistance and ultimately backed out.

Last year, when Shreyas Sudhakar started a heat pump installation company in the San Francisco Bay Area, he realized he wouldn’t be able to find new customers by promising to bring down their utility bills. Electric heat pumps are around three times more efficient than gas appliances, and Sudhakar’s clients typically use less energy overall after making the switch. But they also use more electricity. And if they live in a part of California serviced by Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) or one of the state’s two other investor-owned utilities (IOUs), the savings they may have come to associate with the technology will likely prove elusive.

Source: The New York Times| By Shawn Huber and Ivan Penn

Mark Toney, the executive director of the Utility Reform Network, which represents consumers before the California Public Utilities Commission, the utility regulator, said burying power lines underground could cost $3 million to $4 million a mile. “Everybody knows that we’ve got to rebuild the grid when it burned down the way that it did,” Mr. Toney said. “We think it’s important to look for ways to get things done the most cost-effective way possible.”

Southern California Edison, the electric utility whose equipment has been the focus of investigations into the deadly Eaton fire in Los Angeles County in January, said on Friday that it planned to bury more than 150 miles of power lines in fire-prone areas near Altadena and Malibu, Calif. In a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, company officials estimated the cost of the project at more than $650 million.

Source: ABC30 Fresno| By Brisa Colon

The Utilities Reform Network, or 'TURN', tells Action News they are highly skeptical that prices will go down, as they claim PG&E has eight proposed new hikes on the docket.

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- PG&E CEO Patricia Poppe sat down with Mayor Jerry Dyer in downtown Fresno Thursday evening to talk about energy bills and ongoing efforts to make prices more affordable.

Source: Politico| By Tyler Katzenberger and Christine Mui

Whether the law applies in this situation is unclear, said Adria Tinnin, a policy advocate for The Utility Reform Network. But if it did, it would give the Trump administration or another GOP leader in Washington a golden opportunity to go after the Golden State. And that’s well within the realm of possibility, given Republicans’ adversarial relationship with California and ongoing pursuit of mass deportations. “It's a time suck that would further delay the implementation of a really important decision,” Tinnin told Decoded.

Assemblymember Avelino Valencia’s proposal — a priority bill for state Democrats’ Latino Legislative Caucus — would make California the first U.S. state to allow undocumented immigrants and other people without social security numbers to sign up for the state's LifeLine program, which offers low-income households up to $19 off their monthly phone bill. Valencia’s plan would protect undocumented immigrants by barring LifeLine administrators from sharing customers’ personal information with federal immigration authorities absent a warrant.