Reformulating electricity rates

Gov. Jerry Brown authorizes the PUC to overhaul the way residential rates are structured.

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Jerry Brown has given the go-ahead for state regulators to make a sweeping overhaul of the way California residential ratepayers pay for electricity and how much.

The governor Monday signed AB 327 by Assemblyman Henry T. Perea (D-Fresno), authorizing the state Public Utilities Commission to come up with a new formula aimed at lowering electric bills for people living in hot hinterlands, such as the Inland Empire, Central Valley and high desert, while raising them for those in the more moderate coastal climes.

The bill gives the PUC “the authority to address current electricity rate inequities, protect low-income energy users and maintain robust incentives for renewable energy investments,” Brown wrote in a signing statement.

Perea’s legislation rejiggers the rate-computing formula, which had been frozen in the two lowest of four usage tiers.

The bill also guarantees that low-income ratepayers who participate in a subsidized program continue to receive discounts of as much as 35%.

Owners of roof-top solarelectric systems also would be able to continue getting credits on their bills for excess energy sent back to the utility grid.

“This bill is about keeping electric rates affordable for all Californians while promoting renewable energy growth,” Perea said.

Finally, the bill makes clear that a state law calling for utilities to get a third of their power from renewable sources is a minimum, not a maximum requirement.

In related actions Monday, the governor signed AB 217 by Assemblyman Steven Bradford (D-Gardena), providing rebates for the installation of solar systems by qualified low-income households and AB 270 by Bradford, requiring utilities to make more information available on ratepayerfunded energy efficiency programs.