Plain English Breakdown
The official text states the bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment but does not provide an effective date or governor's signature status in this excerpt.
Energy Billing Transparency and Fee Suspension Rules
This law requires energy companies to list specific program charges on bills, lets customers choose not to pay for some programs if the rules allow it, pauses certain fees if state prices get too high compared to the national average, and limits how long local utilities can charge back underpayments.
What This Bill Does
- Requires electrical and gas corporations regulated by the Public Utilities Commission to show an itemized list of public purpose program charges on customer bills.
- Mandates that energy companies send customers an annual statement about these programs and requires the commission to post information online.
- Creates a way for ratepayers to opt out of funding certain public purpose programs, with the option to change their choice each year.
- Stops the collection of all fees on electricity or gas bills for 6 months if state prices are more than 10% higher than the national average in the previous quarter.
- Pauses requirements and money collections under the California Cap-and-Invest Program for energy companies during those same high-price periods.
- Limits local publicly owned utilities to adjusting customer bills within 3 months for homes and small businesses, or 3 years for large businesses.
Who It Names or Affects
- Electrical corporations and gas corporations regulated by the Public Utilities Commission
- Local publicly owned electric and gas utilities
- Ratepayers who pay electricity or natural gas bills
- The State Air Resources Board
Terms To Know
- Public purpose program charges
- Fees added to energy bills that fund specific government programs.
- Opt out
- A choice for customers to stop paying for certain optional programs on their bill, if the law allows it.
- California Cap-and-Invest Program
- A state program that limits pollution and collects money from covered entities like energy companies.
Limits and Unknowns
- The bill does not list exactly which public purpose programs are eligible for opt-out, only describing them as those not expressly required by statute or designated as nonbypassable.
- No effective date is listed in the provided text to show when these rules begin.