Recently, the Committee on Utilities and Energy passed AB 50 by Assemblymember Jim Wood (D-Healdsburg), legislation that will hold utilities accountable for providing Californians with timely and reliable power connections. The bill now moves to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
“My office has heard from an alarming number of residential and commercial projects in my district that received “will serve” letters from the utility that indicate when power will be made available, but are waiting months and years longer to get electricity,” said Wood. “Once I introduced this bill, we quickly learned it’s not just happening in my district, it’s a statewide issue.”
California is pursuing unprecedented climate change goals which is driving the need to overhaul the way power is produced and used in order to reduce emissions in an energy transition that will require a third more electricity over the next decade.
“If our electric corporations can’t meet our power demands, it will be impossible to achieve our critical climate, housing and economic development goals,” said Wood.
AB 50 holds utilities accountable by ensuring customers have a right to timely service connections and also allows the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to determine if it would be appropriate for customers to receive financial compensation as a result of these delays.