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Source: San Francisco Chronicle | By Jessica Roy

California has the second-highest electricity costs of any state in the U.S. Mark Toney, the executive director of nonprofit consumer advocacy group The Utility Reform Network, said high rates and fluctuating weather patterns can make monthly bills unpredictable.  Electricity bills “have high volatility,” he said. “They can go up very quickly, before you know it, based on the weather that you really have very little control over.”

If you or another full-time resident in your home relies on energy for a medical need — for instance, if you use a respirator, oxygen generator, powered wheelchair, dialysis machine or apnea monitor, or if you need a refrigerator to keep medicine such as insulin cold, or depend on heating or cooling for conditions like multiple sclerosis or scleroderma — you are eligible to receive an extra monthly allotment of energy at the lower baseline price. Eligibility is based on medical need, not income. 

Source: San Francisco Chronicle | By Mark Toney, Executive Director of TURN (contributor)

PG&E is seeking to charge California ratepayers billions for outstanding costs, which will soon show up on our electricity bills. The utility has also requested and is expected to collect on several additional pending proposals to raise rates over the coming years and has $1.05 billion sitting in memorandum accounts that will be billed to ratepayers. This includes billions of dollars for wildfire mitigation, grid upgrades and other investments — as well as the hefty profit margins the utility is allowed to collect.

PG&E claims its rates are stabilizing. The numbers say otherwise.  According to an independent assessment by the California Public Utilities Commission’s Public Advocates Office, the state’s advocate for ratepayers, the average PG&E customer could pay $840 more annually by 2030, on top of the 69% rate increase during the past decade.

Source: Benton Institute for Broadband and Society | By Kevin Taglang

During the 2026 proceeding, AARP and TURN argued that the telephone remains a preferred channel for older adults, lower-income households, and consumers with limited digital literacy—and, as TURN noted, for people who do not yet have broadband and are calling to find out what it costs. TURN cited 2023 American Community Survey data showing that "80 percent of adults with vision difficulty own a smartphone, against 62.7 percent with home broadband service."

If you shop for home internet service in the coming months, something on the screen may look different. For the past two years, providers have had to show you a standardized "broadband label"—a black-and-white box modeled on the nutrition panel on a cereal box, listing the monthly price, what happens when the introductory rate expires, the typical speeds, the latency, the data allowance, and each fee added on top. The label had to sit right next to the advertised plan.

Source: Communications Daily | By Philip Athey

But multiple consumer advocacy groups said this week that the argument was flawed and that discontinuing copper networks in California without CPUC approval poses a severe safety risk.  The Utility Reform Network (TURN) said the CPUC should bear in mind that the FCC order is the subject of two federal lawsuits. “The Commission cannot ‘harmonize’ current or proposed COLR rules with an FCC Order that is not settled, but TURN does not object to provisions that contemplate revisiting the rules in the future, if necessary,” the group said. “The nature of these cases and their asks to determine whether the Commission has gone far enough leaves the finality of the FCC’s interpretation of the Network Modernization Order uncertain.”

Advocacy groups are calling on the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to reject industry arguments and instead fight against FCC's preemption of the state’s carrier of last resort rules, according to comment filings Thursday.  

Source: The Orange County Register | By Teri Sforza

“What we have to do is to fix the broken system where there are no limits to rate hikes, no limit to how much they can ask for or how many times a year they can ask, and no limit to how much the CPUC can grant,” said Mark Toney, executive director of The Utility Reform Network, at a cyber town hall last week.

Jaw Drop Detail No. 1: California’s big electric companies spent more than one thousand dollars for every state resident on wildfire-related costs between 2019 and 2024.  Which is to say, a cool $40 billion, divvied up between post-catastrophe liabilities ($13.6 billion) and pre-catastrophe infrastructure hardening ($26.6 billion).

Source: The San Diego Union-Tribune | By Rob Nikolewski

“There is an affordability issue with any type of rate increases year over year, and we want to see rates decrease significantly instead of going up constantly,” the group’s communications director, Lee Trotman, said in an email to the Union-Tribune. “The way to do that is to call your legislators and demand action and accountability from the CPUC to stop rubber stamping approvals.”

San Diego Gas & Electric officials late Monday afternoon filed a rate request with the California Public Utilities Commission that seeks to increase average monthly bills in 2028 for residential customers using electricity and natural gas by 8.6%.  In its filing, SDG&E officials seek an estimated revenue requirement of about $3.8 billion for 2028 — $2.9 billion for electric operations and $900 million for natural gas operations. That’s an increase of $280 million, or 8.1%, compared to estimated levels for 2027.

Source: San Diego Tribune | By Rob Nikolewski

“By taking away telecommunications, you disrupt the foundation of all of that regulatory structure,” said Adria Tinnin, director of race equity and legislative policy, at The Utility Reform Network, commonly known as TURN, a consumer group based in Oakland.

A proposal by Assemblymember Tasha Boerner that would make major changes to the California Public Utilities Commission by amending the state’s constitution has been put on hold by the Encinitas Democrat.  Her legislation, called Assembly Constitutional Amendment 9, drew attention for its provision that would expand the number of voting members on the commission from five to nine. The proposal also calls for the CPUC to expressly consider affordability when making decisions on utility rates.

Source: Communications Daily | By Philip Athey

Adria Tinnin, director of race equity and legislative policy at The Utility Reform Network (TURN), said the lack of formal opposition was just a logistics issue.  “We didn't expect it to survive, and so we need to prioritize our limited resources on other pieces of legislation, but we're definitely very concerned about deleting the reference to telecom from the state constitution,” she said. “It’s an important Jenga piece.” While the amendment would remove telecom as a constitutionally defined public utility, it wouldn't change the state’s Public Utilities Code. It also wouldn't on its own remove telecom and broadband from the California Public Utilities Commission's (CPUC) portfolio. It would instead direct the California legislature to create a new broadband agency that could take over telecom regulation if a future legislature chose.

Experts and advocacy groups are warning that California’s ACA-9, a proposed amendment that would remove telecom as a constitutionally defined public utility, could weaken regulation of the industry in the state.  The constitutional amendment easily passed in the California Assembly last month on a 67-1 vote (see 2605200033). It had previously advanced out of two committees with unanimous votes and without any formal opposition from outside groups, according to an analysis filed with the amendment.

Source: The Energy Show | By Barry Cinnamon

Mark: one of the things we are looking at is 'what’s the energy affordability crisis look like?'  About 20% of all customers, five million customers in California are behind on their bills.  Another indication is how many families get shut off; in the past year, over 150,000 households had their electricity shut off because they fell behind on their bills.  Almost 40,000 were never reconnected.  A crisis also looks at what’s happening to small businesses that are shutting their doors because of electricity prices.  One of the things that TURN does is we have an alliance with large industries, agriculture, small businesses and other industrial sectors.  These businesses get hit double every month so the price of electricity is baked into grocery store prices so everyone feels it over and over again in everything we buy.

Barry: so if you’re wondering why your energy bills are so high, then I suggest you turn to TURN; my guest on this week’s show is Mark Toney, he’s the Executive Director of TURN.  I would characterize him as a thinking bulldog when it comes to solving the structural problems of high energy costs.  Welcome to the show, Mark!

Source: The Sacramento Bee | By George Avalos

The future, however, might bring higher bills, in Toney’s view, primarily because PG&E has a considerable number of proceedings that are pending before its primary regulator, the California Public Utilities Commission.  “PG&E still has 13 pending rate requests before the PUC,” Toney said. “We don’t know how long these decreases in bills will last.” As a result, Toney is skeptical that the PUC will prevent bills from rising as it ponders PG&E’s multiple pending requests. “I have a hard time imagining that the PUC’s decisions will result in lower bills when you consider how the PUC typically acts with PG&E rate proceedings,” Toney said.

PG&E electricity bills will be lower this month, the utility revealed Monday, a decline that continues customers’ reprieve from the brutal price spikes of recent years.  PG&E cut electric rates further Sunday, on the heels of a reduction that went into effect with the January billing cycle.

Source: CalMatters (TURN) | By Jalal Awan

SB 1221 partly remedies this by requiring zero-emission alternatives only when they’re cheaper than gas, ensuring utilities are made whole, while empowering the commission to shut down gas segments when two-thirds of property owners agree to electrify.  SB 1221 offers a rare alignment of climate, affordability and equity. That promise will only be realized if regulators resist the path of least resistance and send neighborhood decarbonization first to the communities that need it most — and where it saves the most money.

But two problems arise.  The first is participation bias. The commission’s docket system favors communities with the resources to engage in regulatory processes. The result: a map dominated by coastal, civically organized neighborhoods — leaving higher-burdened, inland and Central Valley communities out. The second problem is utility incentives. Utilities earn guaranteed returns on gas pipelines but face uncertainty with electrification. 

Source: The Los Angeles Times | By Alejandro Lazo

Many homes need new wiring, larger breakers or a full panel replacement, and some require upgrades to the service connection to the grid, said Matthew Freedman of the Utility Reform Network. Costs rise quickly when homeowners electrify more than just heating, he said.  Customers often underestimate how complex and costly that electrical work can be, he said, another uncertainty on top of the potential for long-term rate savings.

If you’re a California homeowner and you’ve been feeling chilly this winter, there are plenty of reasons to go get a heat pump.  An all-electric, energy-efficient alternative to gas-burning furnaces, heat pumps are widely seen as the climate-friendly home heater of choice.  They can do double-duty as both home heaters and AC units and are pretty good at maintaining a constant temperature inside a home without the blast-then-cool-off cycle typical of a furnace. What about a guaranteed lower monthly utility bill? Not in California.  California has built one of the most aggressive heat pump strategies in the country. The state aims to install 6 million heat pumps in homes by 2030. Lawmakers are also moving this year to boost heat pump adoption — proposing to streamline permitting, and make it easier to electrify homes. On the other hand, California’s residential electricity prices are among the highest in the country — expensive even compared with its also pricey natural gas. That makes heat pumps a tough sell to many Californians. Though the state’s temperate coast is ideal for heat pump adoption, high residential electricity prices can make swapping a gas furnace for a heat pump a pricey proposition. That’s especially true in counties where homes tend to be larger, winters are colder or electricity is costly.

Source: Beritaja.com | By Albert Michael

Mark Toney, executive head of the The Utility Reform Network, a consumer advocate group successful in San Francisco, said his team estimates Edison spends $4 million per mile to underground wires, compared to $800,000 per mile for installing insulated lines.  By burying much of the lines, customer bills and Edison’s profits could soar, Toney said. “Five times the costs is adjacent to 5 times the profit,” he said.

Connor Cipolla, an Eaton wildfire survivor, praised Southern California Edison’s plan to bury more than 60 miles of electrical lines.  Then he learned he would have to pay $20,000 to $40,000 to link his home, which was damaged by fumes and ash, to Edison’s underground line. An adjacent neighbour received an estimate for $30,000, he said.  “Residents are truthful angry,” Cipolla said. “We were wholly blindsided.”

The buried lines are an upgrade that will make Altadena’s electrical grid safer and much reliable, Edison says. Although placing cables underground is an occurrence prevention measure, consumer advocates say it’s not the most cost-effective measure Edison could use to trim the risk.  Undergrounding electrical wires could cost as much as $6 million per mile, according to the California Public Utilities Commission, much more than insulating wires.

Source: San Francisco Chronicle | By Quentin L. Kopp

And that’s just the beginning. As part of its general rate case, PG&E is seeking increases that could add $42 a month to customers’ bills — totaling more than $500 annually by 2030, according to The Utility Reform Network.

On Dec. 20, a third of San Francisco homes and businesses were plunged into darkness. Pacific Gas & Electric Co.’s power outage forced families to throw out hundreds of dollars’ worth of spoiled groceries. Seniors on fixed incomes sat in cold apartments, worrying about their medical devices and refrigerated medicine. On one of the busiest shopping days of the year, businesses had to close, with some losing over $100,000 in inventory and missed sales. 

Source: Politico | By Tyler Katzenberger and Nicole Norman

SPOTTED: GET TURNT — Consumer advocacy group The Utility Reform Network (TURN) hosted its annual “Legislative Champions Celebration” at Mayahuel on Monday evening in downtown Sacramento.

 Attendees included: Sens. Josh Becker, María Elena Durazo and Jerry McNerney; Assemblymembers Marc Berman, Tasha Boerner, Cottie Petrie-Norris and Avelino Valencia; TURN Executive Director Mark Toney; TURN race equity policy director Adria Tinnin; Communications Workers of America District 9 campaign lead Yvonne Melton; California Community Foundation policy lead Shayna Englin; and Assembly Communications Committee consultant Emilio Perez.

Source: CalMatters | By Jeanne Kuang

“We’re happy to see all of them taking this issue seriously,” said Mark Toney, executive director of the consumer advocacy group The Utility Reform Network. “But a soundbite is not a proposal … It’s difficult to (lower rates) in one fell swoop, I will tell you that.”

It’s 2026, and “lowering utilities bills” is the new “housing affordability” for Democratic politicians.  In the governor’s race, self-funded billionaire candidate Tom Steyer is declaring he’ll reduce electricity bills by 25%. The environmentalist investor has featured the head-turning figure in ads promising that he’ll “introduce competition” to the electricity market.

Source: Broadband Breakfast | By Jericho Casper

The Utility Reform Networkweighed in, emphasizing that machine-readable label data was essential for research on broadband affordability and public oversight.  TURN said the FCC’s “reliance on vague industry comments that machine readability increases technical complexity and cost – without evidence of widespread use or benefit to consumers – is unfounded.”

A proposal to scale back federal disclosure requirements for Internet plans has drawn sharp criticism from accessibility organizations, consumer groups, and advocates for older adults.  Congress in 2022 directed the Federal Communications Commission to create standardized broadband“nutrition labels,” displaying prices, speeds, fees, and other key details. Under new leadership, the FCC in October asked whether it should eliminate six disclosure requirements and how else it might “streamline the label requirements.” Accessibility advocates warned Friday that the FCC’s rulemaking, which would close the agency’s inquiry into the matter indefinitely, risks “freezing requirements at a baseline” that fails to meet the needs of people who are disabled, vision or hearing impaired, or have limited English proficiency. The objections came as broadband providers urged the FCC to pare back the labels.

Source: TURN Newsroom | By Steve Padilla’s Office

The legislative package is co-sponsored by ratepayer advocacy group TURN and environmental advocacy group Net-Zero California. “California needs to take a leadership role in addressing the threats and opportunities presented by data centers” said Matthew Freedman, Staff Attorney at The Utility Reform Network. “These bills will ensure new electrical demand created by data centers helps to lower rates for all customers, improves grid reliability and accelerates the transition to clean energy resources.”

SACRAMENTO – Yesterday, Senator Steve Padilla (D-San Diego) introduced Senate Bills 886 and 887, two measures designed to protect California ratepayers from the potential increased costs and environmental damage caused by data centers. Data centers are facilities housing the digital infrastructure, crucial to artificial intelligence services. The bills set new standards incentivizing data center development that supports California’s grid and communities in which they are built.  

Source: Politico | By Noah Baustin

The Utility Reform Network is contacting state Assembly and Senate candidates urging them to take strong energy affordability positions, according to Mark Toney, the organization’s executive director. 

Energy rates have quickly emerged as California’s 2026 political punching bag. And signs are everywhere that the Sacramento class intends to keep hammering the issue this election year.  

Source: KQED | By Laura Klivans with Montecillo, Gabriela Glueck, and Jessica Karisa

Mark Toney: Maybe it will take a credible campaign to wake up PG&E to what they need to do.  I don’t want to discourage this campaign, public power campaign, and I’ll tell you why. Because if there is a real threat that they may lose the franchise, maybe that will provide the motivation to do a better job, to bring the rates down, to increase the of their facilities.

San Francisco residents are furious with Pacific Gas & Electric after nearly one third of the city was hit by a series of power outages over the holiday season. This public outrage has also revived calls for the city — or even the state — to take over the investor-owned utility.