Opinion
California’s hated electric bills will soon be based on our income. Will it work? | Opinion
Paul Kitagaki Jr./pkitagaki@sacbee.com
Tom Philp / Sun, June 25, 2023 at 8:00 AM EDT
The concept of an electricity bill based on your tax bracket is entirely foreign to the American consumer experience. It might smack of an invasion of privacy. Big Brother even. So of course, California is going to implement one for those who get their electricity from investor-owned utilities such as PG&E and Southern California Edison.
A year ago, this idea surfaced in a budget trailer bill with little public discussion. It was hastily approved by the California Legislature. Signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, the legislation puts California on a pioneering path to be the first state to factor wealth into this unpopular monthly bill.
Implementation of this groundbreaking plan is still at least a year away as it will be debated before the Public Utilities Commission until the PUC must adopt something by July 1, 2024. The PUC regulates the investor-owned utilities such as PG&E. (Sacramento Municipal Utility District customers and other Californians who get their electricity via public power agencies, will not be subject to income-based electric bills).
a) Will this billing shift be revenue neutral? Poor utility customers pay less per kW/hr while wealthy utility customers make up the difference?
b) What's the criterion of success or failure? Either way
c) Will the madness started in Sacramento reach St. Louis?