Rising Electricity Rates in Southern California

Source: KNX News Radio  |  By Steve Gregory

“Rates keep rising and customers don’t seem to know why or what to do.  Joining me in the studio is The Utility Reform Network’s Communications Director with hopefully some answers.  Lee Trotman, welcome to my studio.”

 Thanks Steve, good to be hear.  Yes, energy rates are rising, and part of the problem is that the utilities have powerful lobbyists that quietly kill legislation that benefits customers.  For example, last year SB 938 the Utility Accountability Act was quietly killed and this would have stopped utilities from passing political and lobbying expenses on to consumers.  This is why we need to put pressure on legislators to do the right thing and stand up for ratepayers.  

In fact, on June 6th the House of Origin Floor vote takes place, and it’s the last opportunity in 2025 for lawmakers to pass reforms aimed at curbing utility overreach and shielding consumers from unnecessary rate hikes.  There are things customer can do to hold legislators accountable, such as supporting Senator Josh Becker’s SB 254 bill and also going to TURN.org and signing up for action alerts.  We also have a 2024 Legislative Affordability and Accountability Scorecard that scores legislators on utility affordability issues.  And finally, we tell customers to never give up because they have the power to change things.”