CA Legislature Greenlights McNerney’s SB 24 to Protect Ratepayers from Utilities’ Abuses
The California Legislature has approved Sen. Jerry McNerney’s SB 24, which is designed to protect California ratepayers from skyrocketing bills by holding investor-owned utilities accountable for illegal activities.
SB 24 would bar IOUs, like PG&E, from using ratepayers dollars to lobby against local efforts to create a municipal utility. The bill would also expand the investigative oversight of utilities actions. SB 24 is part of utilities accountability package with Asm. Marc Berman’s AB 1167. The two bills will work in tandem to strengthen state law to further prevent IOUs from using ratepayer funds on unlawful activities.
“With utility bills soaring and IOUs pocketing billions in record profits, it’s appalling when utilities use their customers’ money to battle efforts by cities and counties to create their own municipal utilities,” said Sen. McNerney, D-Pleasanton. “With the passage of SB 24, the Legislature has sent a clear message: It’s time to hold utilities accountable and stop them from wasting ratepayer dollars on lobbying and political campaigns that should be paid by shareholders.”
SB 24 won approval today in the Senate on a vote of 29-9, after the Assembly passed the bill on Thursday on a 46-9 vote. AB 1167 also passed both houses of the Legislature. SB 24 now goes to the governor’s desk for consideration.
Current state law bars IOUs from using ratepayer dollars for lobbying, political campaigns, and promotional advertising, and instead directs IOUs to use shareholder funds for such activities. But current law includes loopholes and lax enforcement, enabling IOUs to blur the lines between ratepayer and shareholder spending.
SB 24 would explicitly ban the use of ratepayer funds on lobbying or other political activities against efforts by cities and counties to create their own municipal utilities. SB 24 would also empower the Public Advocate’s Office of the Public Utilities Commission with full investigatory authority over IOUs’ activities in order to protect consumers from utilities’ abuses.
Sen. Jerry McNerney is chair of the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee and his 5th Senate District includes all of San Joaquin County and Alameda County’s Tri-Valley.
