Senate energy committee advances package of bills aimed at electricity affordability, grid reliability and telecom transition

The Senate Committee on Energy, Utilities and Communications on April 20 advanced a large package of bills intended to lower electricity costs for Californians, increase oversight of utilities and speed the build-out of clean-energy infrastructure and telecommunications systems.

Committee members advanced bills that would: require more transparency and reporting from the California Public Utilities Commission (AB 13); set timetables and requirements for local government planning to support electrification and electric-vehicle charging (AB 39); clarify how distributed energy resources should be counted in demand forecasts to reduce peak procurement (AB 44); and expand optional dynamic electricity pricing for customers that volunteer to shift use (AB 1117). The committee also voted to move forward proposals to enable larger-scale virtual power plants and to create new financing options intended to reduce long-term transmission and undergrounding costs for ratepayers.

Why it matters: Lawmakers and guests repeatedly framed the bills around affordability and reliability. Committee proponents said modernizing how the state plans and pays for grid upgrades — and how it uses customer-sited resources such as batteries and EV chargers during high-price hours — can avoid expensive last-minute power purchases and cut consumer bills. Opponents, primarily utilities, some community choice aggregators (CCAs) and labor groups, warned of potential unintended impacts on program funding, local permitting, consumer protection and current contracts.

Most measures were advanced to the Senate Appropriations Committee for further review. Below are the principal bills discussed in the hearing and the committee’s recorded action, followed by short summaries of the major arguments for and against.

Votes at a glance (committee action) - AB 13 (Ransom) — Reforming PUC oversight and geographic representation; do pass as amended to Senate Appropriations Committee — Committee roll call: approved (final committee tally recorded by clerk: 16–0). Author/primary sponsor: Assemblymember Buffy Wicks Ransom (as stated in the hearing).

- AB 39 (Zibur) — Requires…