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 jurisdictions 75,000+ to adopt an electrification/charger planning element; do pass as amended to Appropriations — Committee roll call: approved (final recorded tally: 12–4). Sponsors and many local governments, utilities and clean-transportation groups testified in support.

- AB 44 (Schulz) — Clarify rules for counting behind-the-meter distributed energy resources in load forecasts and encourage testing to let load-serving entities reduce forecasted peak demand; do pass as amended to Appropriations — Committee roll call: approved (final recorded tally: 15–1).

- AB 1117 (Schulz) — Require the CPUC to implement optional dynamic retail tariffs and consumer protections (opt-in dynamic pricing); do pass as amended to Appropriations — Committee roll call: approved (final recorded tally recorded by clerk: 10–3).

- AB 470 (McKinner) — Update carrier-of-last-resort rules to allow transition from legacy copper landlines to modern services under CPUC oversight and with consumer and public-safety conditions; do pass as amended to Senate Judiciary — Committee roll call: approved (final recorded tally recorded in roll calls: 9–1 at committee; later final 6–1 earlier in the hearing; committee moved the measure forward).

- AB 740 (Harabedian) — Direct the Energy Commission to produce an implementation plan to scale virtual power plants (VPPs); do pass as amended to Appropriations — Committee roll call: approved (final recorded tally: 16–0).

- AB 745 (Erwin) — Move climate-credit timing and delivery to reduce residential bills in high-use summer months by distributing credits volumetrically during peak season (author’s framing); do pass as amended to Appropriations — Committee roll call: approved (final recorded tally: 14–0).

- AB 825 (Petrie-Norris; presented by proxy) — Multi-part affordability package: optional securitization for undergrounding, public financing options for transmission, and local permitting assistance for needed projects; do pass as amended to Appropriations — Committee roll call: approved (final recorded tally: 12–1).

- AB 705 (Berner) — Create an inspector general and independent audit office for the California Public Utilities Commission; do pass as amended to Appropriations — Committee roll call: approved (final recorded tally recorded earlier: 13–1; committee advanced the bill).

- AB 117 (Schulz) — (Companion to AB 44) Expand access to optional dynamic rates and require CPUC process clarity; do pass as amended to Appropriations — Committee roll call: approved (final recorded tally earlier in the session: 10–3).

- AB 1280 (Garcia) — Expand eligibility for state grant and loan programs to industrial decarbonization projects using thermal energy storage and industrial heat pumps; do pass as amended to Appropriations — Committee roll call: approved (final recorded tally: 13–0).

- AB 942 (Calderon) — Changes to climate-credit eligibility for customers who fully zero out retail bills (cap and redistribution proposal); committee accepted extensive amendments; do pass as amended to Appropriations — Committee roll call: approved (final recorded tally reported in the clerk’s roll calls 9–4).

The committee advanced several other items and consent-calendar entries; in each case the clerk recorded the committee roll-call result before adjourning.

What supporters said - Affordability: Authors and many supporting witnesses said the state must try every available tool to lower bills and avoid costly emergency power purchases during heat waves. Measures that let utilities and CCAs count verified behind‑the‑meter resources toward peak capacity could reduce how much expensive peaking energy must be purchased in the wholesale market, they said. - Faster, cheaper infrastructure: Several witnesses urged public financing or public‑private ownership options for long‑distance transmission and for undergrounding wildfire‑mitigation projects. They said public debt could cut financing costs and yield billions of dollars in long‑term savings for ratepayers. - Local planning and permitting: Supporters argued cities and counties need technical grants and staffing help to process solar, storage and EV charging projects faster so the state can meet its 2030 climate and 2035 building goals. - Telecom transition: Supporters of AB 470 said legacy copper landline rules need to be updated, and that setting a CPUC-managed transition process (with affordability, backup power and public‑safety guardrails) will enable private investment in modern networks.

What opponents and tweener witnesses said - Utilities, some CCAs and trade groups raised concerns about: (a) programmatic authority and timing; (b) potential impacts on existing rate designs and consumer protections; (c) ensuring analytic rigor and stakeholder input before authorizing task forces or program cancellations; and (d) legal and jurisdictional issues for transmission built under federal rules. - Labor and consumer groups pressed for explicit protections for workers and low‑income customers where measures affect jobs or redistribute program funds. - Telecom and CWA witnesses warned AB 470 could weaken universal‑service obligations if not tightly constrained; the author accepted multiple amendments and added “rainy day” provisions and labor/wage language to address many of those concerns.

Key next steps - All measures that advanced now go to the Senate Appropriations Committee for fiscal review. Several authors and committee members signaled ongoing negotiation with stakeholders before floor votes. - The committee sent industry and policy experts back to work on detailed on‑ramps for public financing, securitization mechanics, and CPUC procedural changes that supporters say are needed to achieve the projected customer savings.

Ending note Senators and presenters repeatedly returned to a single theme: Californians face rising monthly electricity costs and want concrete options to lower them. The package the committee advanced pairs demand‑side changes — optional dynamic pricing and broader use of customer‑sited batteries, EV chargers and thermostats — with supply‑side reforms such as alternative financing for transmission and targeted changes to how the PUC operates. The measures will undergo further fiscal and policy review in Appropriations before they can reach the Senate floor.

Votes and roll-call recordings are on file with the committee clerk; a complete list of action language and the clerk’s recorded tallies is below in “Votes at a glance.”