Anger builds over sweeping change in the way most Californians will pay for electricity

With little debate two years ago, state lawmakers passed a complex energy bill that enabled a sweeping change in how most Californians are billed for electricity. “This is easy money.” Terrie Prosper, the CPUC’s director of strategic communications, said in a statement that the new rate structure “makes going electric more affordable for everyone, regardless of income, geography, or the size of their home.” Someone who powers all their home appliances and their vehicle with electricity would save an average of $28 to $44 a month compared with the current billing structure, the commission estimates. “The flat rate is not a new fee — it simply reallocates how electricity costs are paid for on bills.” Alex Stack, a spokesperson for Newsom, said that before the bill’s passage, the idea of the fixed fees had been repeatedly discussed at public meetings and budget hearings “as a potential solution for managing rising electric bills.” Stack did not answer a question of whether Newsom proposed the bill at the utilities’ request. Michael Backstrom, Edison’s vice president of regulatory affairs, said the new fixed charge would ensure “everyone using the grid is paying for its operation and upkeep.” “There is no additional cost being collected,” he said. In a paragraph on Page 63, he said he was proposing legislation “to adjust electricity rates to predetermined fixed charges.” That change, he said, would “enhance widespread electrification efforts.” The state’s legislative tracking system shows the proposed language to do that first appeared on June 26, 2022.