Under existing law, California’s Public Utilities Commission (PUC) oversees the Family Electric Rate Assistance (FERA) program, which provides discounted electricity rates to qualifying low-income households (3+ persons earning 200-250% of federal poverty levels) served by the state’s three largest utilities. Currently, utilities must submit annual reports (starting March 2025) on FERA enrollment efforts, with the PUC reviewing their progress (by June 2025) and requiring corrective plans if enrollment is inadequate. This bill expands reporting requirements by mandating that utilities disaggregate enrollment data by disadvantaged communities (as defined by the PUC) and include targeted outreach strategies for these communities in any required improvement plans. Violations of PUC rules under the bill would be punishable as crimes, though no state reimbursement to local agencies is required for associated costs. The changes aim to improve transparency and equitable access to utility assistance programs.

This comprehensive energy legislation introduces sweeping reforms across California’s utility regulation and clean energy infrastructure development through several key provisions: (1) It overhauls wildfire safety planning by extending utility mitigation plan submission cycles to 4 years while strengthening cost-efficiency requirements and prohibiting certain capital expenditures from ratebase recovery; (2) It enhances consumer protections by increasing climate credit allocations for low-income (CARE/FERA) customers and requiring utilities to submit inflation-constrained rate cases tied to Social Security COLAs; (3) It establishes new financing mechanisms including the POWER Program to reimburse policy-driven utility costs and authorizes recovery bonds for undergrounding projects; (4) It expands the Energy Commission’s certification authority for clean energy projects by lowering eligibility thresholds to $100M investments and extending the application window to 2034 while streamlining environmental reviews; (5) It creates a new Clean Energy Infrastructure Authority with broad powers to develop transmission projects including eminent domain authority; and (6) It increases regulatory transparency through enhanced utility reporting requirements. The bill makes these changes immediately effective as urgency legislation, citing wildfire risks and clean energy transition needs, while specifying no state reimbursement for mandated local costs and applying provisions uniformly to all cities including charter cities.