[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6541224,"mediaKeyId","3632296-b71fa4915ab11af04e95cde450e7d1cd","parentId",3632296,"title","Committee backs Erwin—27s AB 825 to tackle electric affordability with securitization and public transmission financing","audioSeconds",3283,"startMs",2910000,"endMs",6193000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3632296-b71fa4915ab11af04e95cde450e7d1cd&start=2910&end=6193","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3632296-b71fa4915ab11af04e95cde450e7d1cd/thumbnail_2910000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6541224/California/Committee-backs-Erwin27s-AB-825-to-tackle-electric-affordability-with-securitization-and-public-transmission-financing","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6541224-bbbc5718748937bd05f0b30c57aee53f/orig.mp4?Expires=1770646644&Signature=St23528yPYjf6NpgJW9gbOlbmquTnSgQR-FU9~UhHQiYVyA-VN7MT91-WqR~gPXFuIjRSx~Ib0X-sMmnTlVwimGPgl0qAUT~Zq6ncx5iMlDjNbKXX9dyLbcFoFHgY4UprlxVb6nl6Glfm2mccFw8U8gvlTMjadovs8E-Q1smr26KtVOAVl~p0QU3~sfe4gy-6JdmVgRlLcD5-uB9CrnfRUS8cfKjtSvBRaClvJONJu1S9XTdNnDZs8ybm4qLLWrsqplzL816MyAhtDn4wY26kVJ3iS~YOXvk4-9P1c5Kz7fS~p1~Qxb8lj3XjzuayVaLwKrtGQA7Nd9j3hSS0hi~VA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","California State Assembly","date","2025-06-03T00:00:00Z","article","The Assembly Committee on Utilities and Energy voted to send AB 825 to the floor after a prolonged hearing in which the bill’s author and supporting witnesses outlined a multi-part plan to address rising electric rates.

Assemblymember Erwin presented AB 825 as a suite of measures focused on three cost drivers: wildfire mitigation and undergrounding expenses, transmission financing, and permitting delays. She said the state and utilities are facing “historic investments” and argued changes in financing and oversight can reduce costs for ratepayers.

Key provisions described to the committee included: authorizing securitization of up to $15,000,000,000 of future undergrounding capital expenditures to replace higher-cost utility equity financing with lower-cost bonds; creating an optional public transmission financing program that could use about $325,000,000 in Proposition 4 funds and public-private ownership models to lower borrowing costs for new transmission; and deploying existing SERIP funds to help local jurisdictions expedite permitting for clean-energy projects.

Matt Friedman, staff attorney at The Utility Reform Network (TURN), testified in strong support and walked members through the financing logic. He said publicly financed or publicly owned transmission can access lower-cost debt—municipal bonds—relative to investor-owned utilities, and that the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) sees roughly $63,000,000,000 in new transmission need through 2045. Friedman said securitizing $15 billion of undergrounding costs “would save about $8,000,000,000” over 30 years and produce larger, front-loaded savings for customers.

Opponents and cautious stakeholders raised several concerns. The California Coalition of Utility Employees and labor representatives said liability and the cumulative effect of multiple bills changing utility revenue models require careful study. Utilities including SDG&E, PG&E and SCE registered opposition or said they were still reviewing recent amendments; SDG&E said its expected allocation of a $15 billion securitization would yield only marginal customer savings in the first year and warned that credit-rating or borrowing-cost impacts must be considered.

Committee members asked about the source of the $15 billion securitization figure, how public participation in transmission projects would be treated in the state\u000027s wildfire liability fund, and whether reducing investor returns could unintentionally slow undergrounding or otherwise disrupt utility financing. The author and supporting witnesses said the bill requires any publicly financed projects to participate in the wildfire fund and pay proportionate contributions, and that past use of securitization (AB 1054 wildfire financing) did not slow investment.

Matt Friedman and the author argued that the bill would not prevent utilities from continuing to make large capital investments; instead, it substitutes lower-cost capital for a modest portion of projected spending. Erwin and supporters estimated AB 825 could produce roughly $2,000,000,000 in annual ratepayer savings if fully implemented, acknowledging the actual amount would vary by project participation and financial-market appetite for securitized debt.

The committee voted the measure out to the floor. Members said they intended to continue negotiations on liability, wildfire-fund participation, impacts on utility credit ratings, and the task force that would review the value of ratepayer-funded programs. The bill will be considered next on the Assembly floor, where further amendments and stakeholder negotiations are expected.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Assembly Utilities and Energy Committee (1)","oneSentenceSummary","The Assembly Committee on Utilities and Energy voted to send AB 825 to the floor after a hearing that described securitization, public transmission financing and permitting reforms intended to lower electricity rates for California customers.","taxTitle","California State Assembly, House, Legislative, California","taxId",17099,"location","California","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6541229,"Assembly committee advances Erwin bill to apply California Climate Credit to volumetric summer rates",3845,2337000,6182000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3632296-b71fa4915ab11af04e95cde450e7d1cd&start=2337&end=6182","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3632296-b71fa4915ab11af04e95cde450e7d1cd/thumbnail_2337000.jpg","/articles/6541229/California/Assembly-committee-advances-Erwin-bill-to-apply-California-Climate-Credit-to-volumetric-summer-rates","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6541229-9acc325321ebd17fc127872be422e7a0/orig.mp4?Expires=1770646644&Signature=QjrRKGliDHXxtHDYg~w5Ybtu8lKG7bomTYeDiSaTk-JCViUyey~yHM9-h5Qw1zS2kCu9aSmAHzqbCKcpvnfADzNT5-D81hgVS-F95HttUZUi4srbjKeAvMUr15P3PSMTen9SMNHKAWy7r83xQ9eSGb-WRlrhc-VUZcfDgBnmxY6GdOQxKiWzehZmh8sNK0RH64hbR5Yc2guvTf6x5DJd2nl0Lzs23EMf9ybjWPbcYLpTr1c8rMm5ibIgZHS2b4qS~0h56FNnA1hiP1GeSOPVbQwtwVxrnBKIRle92slSzS5VD05y7ZpsQV-3fjjWFJnqxd-jYhp4wZK71Oh47BmnPQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Assemblymember Erwin’s proposal to restructure the California Climate Credit was advanced by the Assembly Committee on Utilities and Energy on a voice and roll-call vote, with the committee recording the measure as passed to the floor.

AB 745 would change the climate credit’s delivery from two lump-sum bill rebates to a direct, volumetric reduction in electricity rates applied in summer months. Proponents said the change would target relief when households face their highest bills and improve affordability while the state reauthorizes the cap-and-trade program that generates the credit.

The bill’s author, Assemblymember Erwin, told the committee that “rather than receiving a flat on-bill credit in off peak months, our constituents would pay noticeably less per kilowatt hour for electricity during the high demand summer months.” Erwin said the credit currently is “distributed as a lump sum on utility bills during April and October” and that the change would shift the majority of the benefit to hot months when air-conditioning use affects public health.

Dr. Kyle Meng, professor of economics at UC Santa Barbara and a former White House Council of Economic Advisors economist, testified for the bill and cited an analysis by the Environmental Markets Lab. He said the climate credit program distributed “over $1,200,000,000 to over 11,000,000 households” in 2023 and that using those funds to lower volumetric rates in summer could reduce electricity prices by “13 to 19%” for households served by the state’s large investor-owned utilities. He added that targeting the credit to low-income households could produce larger percentage reductions for those recipients.

Organized supporters included the Union of Concerned Scientists and the Natural Resources Defense Council, which asked for amendments to preserve or redirect related gas credits. Investor-owned utilities including Pacific Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison said they were still reviewing the bill and sought to work with the author on low-income provisions and program details. The California Coalition of Utility Employees and the State Association of Electrical Workers offered conditional support if low-income CARE (California Alternate Rates for Energy) households were prioritized.

The committee took public testimony limited by the hearing rules: two minutes per witness in support and two in opposition. No primary witness registered formal opposition at the hearing; committee members asked clarifying questions about coordination with other cap-and-trade reauthorization work and about how any redirection of gas credits would be handled.

After brief member discussion and a request for members to support the measure, the committee clerk called the roll. The committee chair announced the bill had passed to the floor; later in the hearing the clerk recorded and confirmed that AB 745 had been reported out of committee.

Looking ahead, the bill will go to the Assembly floor. The committee record shows members agreed the bill should be coordinated with cap-and-trade reauthorization work and that additional amendments could address low-income targeting and possible redirection of the gas climate credit.

Ending: The committee advanced AB 745 as a vehicle for changing how the climate credit reaches ratepayers; the measure will now be considered on the Assembly floor where members may offer further amendments and seek additional technical refinements.","The Assembly Committee on Utilities and Energy voted to send AB 745 to the floor after proponents said the bill would reconfigure the California Climate Credit to lower summer electricity prices by applying the credit as a volumetric rate reduction instead of a lump-sum rebate.","actionData","errors"]

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Committee backs Erwin—27s AB 825 to tackle electric affordability with securitization and public transmission financing

Assembly committee advances Erwin bill to apply California Climate Credit to volumetric summer rates