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Senate bill targets utility costs, proposes Power Fund and $15B securitization; committee advances bill amid divided testimony
Summary
Sen. Beckers SB 254, a package of measures to curb rising residential electricity bills, advanced from the Assembly Utilities and Energy Committee after supporters described new customer credits, a Power Fund and a plan to securitize $15 billion of utility spending and opponents warned the bill needs narrower drafting and further analysis.
Senator Beckers SB 254, a multi-part affordability bill aimed at reducing long-term utility costs for California electricity customers, was presented and advanced by the Assembly Committee on Utilities and Energy after debate on cost, scope and implementation.
The bill would dedicate climate/dividend credits to customer bills, create a Power Fund administered by the California Energy Commission to shift some costs out of rates into other funding sources, require greater transparency and scrutiny of utility spending, and require investor-owned utilities to securitize $15 billion of future wildfire- and customer-energization-related capital spending. Supporters say the mix could materially reduce future rate growth; opponents warned the bill as drafted does not address the attributable legal and…
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