Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Cpuc Affordability topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
CPUC officials outline affordability work and face questions about staffing and rate oversight
Summary
CPUC President Alice Reynolds described long‑term drivers of rising electricity rates and steps the commission is taking on wildfire mitigation costs, rooftop solar compensation and procurement; committee members pressed the agency on staffing growth, decision timelines and a new mandate to examine rate‑of‑return variances.
California Public Utilities Commission officials told the Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 4 they are focusing on affordability, safety and reliability, and outlined a set of policy options to address upward pressure on utility customer bills.
"In the 5 years between 2019 and 2023, our investor owned utilities collected approximately $27,000,000,000 from rate payers to pay for wildfire mitigation and insurance premiums," Alice Reynolds, president of the CPUC, told the committee. Reynolds said the commission’s response to the governor's executive order assessed long‑term drivers of rising rates and proposed options including evaluating wildfire mitigation costs in general rate cases, reallocating the California Climate Credit, and seeking alternative funding sources for programs currently paid by ratepayers.
Members pressed the CPUC on staffing and timeliness. Lawmakers noted staff growth and asked whether additional positions or procedural changes had reduced delays. Shenley Bemer and other members questioned recent staffing increases and whether process changes could improve speed without sacrificing due process. CPUC officials said some proceedings are necessarily lengthy and that the agency is pursuing process improvements and has begun collecting additional data to increase transparency.
The commission also outlined work to implement recent legislation requiring review of rate‑of‑return variances. Energy Division staff said they have begun collecting forecast vs. actual data from utilities and plan an order‑instituting rulemaking and a stakeholder process to create a methodology to parse costs across thousands of categories. Committee members expressed concern at adding new permanent positions while the agency faces an 8% budget cut that will reduce staff in other areas.
Why it matters: CPUC oversight decisions on wildfire cost recovery, rate structures and procurement affect utility bills for millions of Californians. The agency’s staffing and procedural choices will shape how quickly it can deliver decisions and implement new statutory mandates.
What’s next: The CPUC will continue to develop procedural improvements, publish the data it has collected and begin the formal rulemaking and stakeholder process required to implement the rate‑of‑return variance statute.
