The Governor and Legislature are scrambling in the final hours of the legislative session to pass AB 3121 (Petrie-Norris) in an attempt to provide consumers and businesses negligible relief from rapidly escalating utility bills. In their haste, they’re planning to cut equity programs that provide greater utility bill relief to the very people who need it the most, low-income Californians including our state’s environmental justice and tribal communities. In response to the California Public Utilities Commission’s recent approvals of multiple utility tariff increases, legislators are proposing a one-time $30 bill credit (which is probably a small fraction of your ongoing bill increases). Where are they getting the money? By raiding funds from the Solar on Multifamily Affordable Housing (SOMAH) Program, Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP), and California Schools Healthy Air, Plumbing and Efficiency (CalSHAPE) Program. Both SOMAH and SGIP help low-income housing residents, families, and small businesses in disadvantaged communities generate and store their own energy and lower their energy bills, while providing workforce development and climate resilience. CalSHAPE funds critical heating, ventilation, and air conditioning improvements in schools as temperatures keep hitting record highs. All three programs are supported by a coalition of environmental justice, environmental, equity, solar, and industry groups.
Read moreOppose AB 3121 (Petrie-Norris) – Utility bill breaks for the rich should not come at the expense of environmental justice and tribal communities
