Source: KNCO Radio | By Chris Gilbert

“PG&E has filed for more rate hikes and their CEO claims rates will stable and may even go down in 2027.  Is this right?  With us is Lee Trotman, The Utility Reform Network’s Communications Director and he may be able to shed some light on what’s going on.  How are you today?” “Doing well, thanks.  You are referring to PG&E’s CEO Patti Poppe’s statements, right?  Some of the rate increases will expire this year and next, so technically rates could go down.  But the problem is that what PG&E just filed is called the General Rate Case for 2027 to 2030, and it’s basically scheduled rate increases.  What you don’t see are the rate increases they filed that aren’t part of the GRC, and that’s 50% of the overall picture.  PG&E should tell the entire story, so the proof will be if customers bills decrease.  That’s the proof and I don’t have high hopes for that.  So what customers can do is to go to TURN.org and sign up for our action alerts, because we have solutions to the nonstop rate hikes such as SB 254, a bill that Senator Josh Becker has introduced.  This bill will shift wildfire mitigation efforts away from ratepayers and also create a low cost public financing option that will reduce shareholder profits.  This provides short and long-term rate relief.”

Source: KOGO AM | By Ted and Veronica Show

“Rising rates are here to stay, especially in the San Diego area. Here to talk about increasing rates and what we can do about them is Lee Trotman, Communications Director for The Utility Reform Network or TURN as they are known.  Welcome Lee!” “Hi Ted, hi Veronica, good to be here.  You are correct that rising rates for energy seem to be here to stay, and there are things customers can do to slow down this pace.  The California Public Utilities Commission has to approve these increases so limiting the number of increases or capping them is a common sense solution that we are pushing for.  Also, customers need to get involved and put pressure on legislators to start assisting ratepayers, and one way to get involved is support a bill by Senator Josh Becker called SB 254.  Basically, it shifts wildfire costs from ratepayers and also introduces a lower cost public financing option which would result in lowering shareholder profits and your bills.  You can go to TURN.org for more information and learn various ways to lower your bill.”

Source:The Community Voice| By Staff

The Utility Reform Network (TURN) and the Campaign for Affordable Power (CAP) coalition gathered outside of the Capitol today to urge Governor Newsom and lawmakers to stand up against utility pressure and support the Campaign for Affordable Power (CAP) bill package and the long-promised Senate affordability package, now SB 254. The Utility Reform Network led efforts alongside coalition members AARP, the California Large Energy Consumers Association, the Agricultural Energy Consumers Association, California Farm Bureau, California Metals Coalition, California Community Choice Association, and the Small Business Utility Advocates. “SB 254 and the CAP measures together deliver both the structural reforms we need to rein in runaway utility costs and the immediate bill relief families deserve. We thank Senate leaders for moving SB 254 forward. Now it’s time for Governor Newsom and the Legislature to act so Californians see lower bills this year and beyond,” said Mark Toney, executive director of The Utility Reform Network. 

“Energy affordability isn’t just a concern for households. Farmers and ranchers are feeling the pressure too. Agricultural customers have seen similar rate increases, but with fewer options to manage or reduce those costs,” said Kevin Johnston, Director and Counsel at the California Farm Bureau. “Because farmers and ranchers can’t simply raise prices to cover these expenses, it often leads to consolidation, fewer California-grown products and less investment in on-farm improvements like electrification. That runs counter to California’s climate goals and efforts to strengthen local food security.” “The California Large Energy Consumers Association represents energy intensive industries that produce goods essential for daily life, such as critical infrastructure, oxygen for hospitals, and food distribution. To compete with companies outside California and abroad, power must be affordable; yet California’s soaring electric rates, three times higher than neighboring states, make this increasingly difficult,” said Bruce Magnani with CLECA (California Large Energy Consumers Association). “Failure to enable competitively produced essential manufactured goods in California is an abdication of our state’s leadership as the world’s fifth-largest economy, drives up global emissions due to emissions leakage, and hinders efforts to electrify and decarbonize industrial processes. California’s staggeringly high industrial electricity rates demand urgent action.

Source: Politico| By Blanca Begert, Camille Von Kaenel, Alex Nieves

Another big Becker bill — SB 540, to pave the way to California’s participation in a West-wide grid — is also looking good to clear its Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday. Becker will take amendments to address some of the concerns raised by groups like TURN, including ones to clarify California’s ability to withdraw from the regional energy market if Trump tries to meddle in it, although TURN’s position remains “oppose unless amended.” ON OUR RADAR: Net metering round two: Assemblymember Lisa Calderon has been amassing support from labor groups, electric utilities and TURN for her proposal, AB 942, to limit incentives for some of the state’s earliest rooftop solar owners, a measure she says will spread the costs of maintaining the grid more evenly and save average Californians money on their utility bills. 

The energy affordability bill to rule them all, Sen. Josh Becker’s sweeping SB 254 that he launched last week to tackle skyrocketing electricity rates, will likely get through its hearing Tuesday in the Energy and Utilities Committee, which Becker chairs.

Source: Fox 40, Sacramento | By Noah Anderson

The Utility Reform Network or TURN, and the Campaign for Affordable Power coalition, gathered on the southside lawn of the State Capitol. “By working together, we are convinced we will be able to make the biggest change when it comes to affordability that California has ever seen,” stated Mark Toney, TURN executive director.

The Campaign for Affordable Power coalition assembles advocates from several sectors, all of whom support Senate Bill 254.  SB 254 aims to protect California consumers from high electricity bills by increasing Investor Owned Utility accountability, and restructuring ratepayer obligations. David Azevedo with AARP California says rate increases are hitting older adults particularly hard.  “We don't want older adults looking at their thermostats and saying, if I turn this up, or if I turn this down, am I not going to be able to food on the table, am I not going to be able to pay for my prescriptions, pay for my rent, my mortgage.”