California lawmakers on Thursday spiked two bills aimed at limiting electricity rate increases in the state.
What happened: The state Assembly Appropriations Committee held AB 1774, a bill by state Assemblymember Tasha Boerner (D), and AB 2338, a bill by state Assemblymember Rhodesia Ransom (D), effectively killing both measures.
Why it matters: The decisions are a blow to ratepayer advocates, who are pushing to limit the costs that California’s utilities pass on to their customers.
Context: AB 1774 would have required the California Public Utilities Commission to hire independent auditors to review the wildfire mitigation expenses of the state’s investor-owned utilities. If the CPUC determined, based on the audit, that a wildfire expense was improperly incurred, then the agency would have been required to bar the utility from collecting a reimbursement through customer rates.
