Staff Report Item 5
Staff Report Item 5:
To: Ava Community Energy Authority
From: Sam Sadle, Principal Legislative Manager
Subject Approval of staff recommended legislative positions Date: April 10, 2026
__________________________________________________________________ Summary/Recommendation
Since 2019, Ava staff has worked to implement the Board approved Legislative Program. The Legislative Program provides a framework for staff to identify, assess, track, and (with Board approval) take advocacy-related action regarding proposed legislation.
This recommendation will be formally considered at the upcoming April 15 Board meeting.
Ava staff recommends the Board adopt a “support” position on three bills:
• Senate Bill 222 (Wiener) - Streamlines permitting for installations of residential heat pump water and HVAC systems;
• Senate Bill 1168 (McNerney) - Establishes new surcharges on natural gas consumption by large data centers, with revenues collected to be directed toward low-income ratepayer assistance programs; and
• Assembly Bill 2266 (Schultz) - Requires the use of a consistent method across regulatory proceedings for calculating how much reliability value different energy resources provide, so that short-term, mid-term, and long-term procurement programs all count resources the same way.
Ava staff recommends the Board adopt a “support if amended” position on five bills:
• Senate Bill 868 (Wiener) - Sets rules for “plug in” or “balcony” solar systems; • Senate Bill 913 (Becker) - Allows aggregated distributed resources to serve as Staff Report Item 5
Resource Adequacy capacity;
• Assembly Bill 1577 (Bauer-Kahan) - Requires monthly reporting on data center energy usage;
• Assembly Bill 1975 (Schultz) - Establishes a “grid utilization metric” that calculates load as a percentage of rated distribution capacity; and • Assembly Bill 2389 (Irwin) - Extends property tax exemption for customer-sited solar.
Financial Impact
• SB 222 (Wiener) – Support: Unlikely to have a direct fiscal impact on Ava. • SB 1168 (McNerney) – Support: Unlikely to have a direct fiscal impact on Ava. May reduce customer bill charges related to wildfire expenses. • AB 2266 (Schultz) – Support: Possible reduction in regulatory reporting costs. • SB 868 (Wiener) – Support if Amended: Potential modest reduction in Ava revenues via net load reduction during daytime hours in areas with high plug-in solar adoption.
Depending on how the legislation is implemented, it may increase available resources for virtual power plant initiatives, thus increasing load shift capacity and softening potential financial impacts.
• SB 913 (Becker) – Support if Amended: Depending on how the program is implemented it may lessen Resource Adequacy compliance costs. • AB 1577 (Bauer-Kahan) – Support if Amended: Unlikely to have a direct fiscal impact on Ava.
• AB 1975 (Schultz) – Support if Amended: Unlikely to have a direct fiscal impact on Ava as currently written. May lead to a lessening of transmission and distribution charges for Ava customers or modest savings for the Agency should desired amendments be adopted.
• AB 2389 (Irwin) – Support if Amended: Unlikely to have a direct fiscal impact on Ava.
Depending on how the legislation is implemented, it may increase available resources for virtual power plant initiatives.
Analysis and Context
• SB 222 (Wiener) – Support: If passed, SB 222 would standardize and streamline local permitting for residential heat pump water heaters and heat pump HVAC systems, including by requiring an option for asynchronous inspections and online automated permitting. The bill would support the State’s target of installing six million heat pump systems by 2030, an objective the State is currently set to miss by roughly two million units. In 2025, Ava supported SB 282 (which was largely the same language). This bill supports Ava’s electrification-related policy objectives.
Staff Report Item 5
• SB 1168 (McNerney) – Support: If passed, SB 1168 would impose surcharges on electricity and natural gas consumption by large data centers. Revenues collected would be apportioned by the PUC to fund wildfire-related costs included in rates. The bill is aimed at ensuring that rapidly growing data center loads contribute to system costs and wildfire-related programs. SB 1168 supports Ava’s affordability objectives and the State’s decarbonization goals.
• AB 2266 (Schultz) – Support: AB 2266 would require the PUC, when setting certain resource adequacy and resource procurement obligations for load-serving entities such as Ava, to use a single capacity valuation method to assess the reliability contribution of each resource type. The bill would also require the Commission, to consolidate certain compliance reporting. The current system of having multiple standards across multiple obligation types adds unneeded complexity and increases regulatory costs. Ava has supported this type of standardization in regulatory forums. AB 2266 supports Ava’s affordability objectives by decreasing compliance costs. • SB 868 (Wiener) – Support if Amended: SB 828 would legalize small-scale “plug in” or “balcony” solar installations and under certain conditions exempt these installations from participating in the interconnection process. To be eligible, systems must not exceed a maximum output of 1,200 watts, must be in line with National Electric Code standards and Underwriters Lab certification, and must feature a mechanism that isolates the device from the building’s electrical system to prevent back feeding. The bill also prohibits a utility from requiring utility permission for the device or utility fees for installing the system or the electricity generated by it. The bill does allow utilities to require customers to notify the utility of the address and size of the portable solar generation device. Ava recommends using this bill as an opportunity to promote the evolution of residential self-generation systems. Maximizing the value of "plug in” and “balcony” solar requires pairing it with storage, making it potentially eligible for Ava’s Virtual Power Plant initiative. Accordingly, staff recommends that Ava condition its support for the bill on amendments that would require eligible portable solar devices be paired with storage. • SB 913 (Becker) – Support if Amended: SB 913 would require the PUC to "enhance existing market-integrated pathways" for distributed energy resources (DERs) to qualify as Resource Adequacy (RA) capacity and authorize load serving entities (such as Ava) to include distributed capacity resources in RA filings and PUC-ordered procurement. SB 913 aligns with Ava’s policy priorities related to customer affordability, decarbonization, and promoting local development by allowing aggregated DERs (like those enrolled in a Virtual Power Plant program) to receive compensation based on the capacity value they provide to the grid and enable LSEs to count aggregated DERs toward RA compliance.
These reforms have the potential to incentivize DER adoption and VPP participation, reduce emissions, and lower customer bills through avoided capacity procurement and infrastructure buildout. However, Ava staff support amending the bill to ensure DERs are eligible to be used for RA compliance obligations with the same status as traditional RA products, avoiding any mandatory procurement.
Staff Report Item 5
• AB 1577 (Bauer-Kahan) – Support if Amended: AB 1577 would require the PUC to establish a process for data centers to submit specified energy and water usage data upon energization and monthly thereafter. The bill would also require the PUC, as part of the 2029 edition of the integrated energy policy report, to include an assessment of electrical load trends for data centers and annually publish the information submitted in an anonymized and aggregated format. AB 1577 supports Ava’s decarbonization policy objective by requiring transparent public reporting. However, Ava staff recommend pursuing an amendment to allow adequate reporting timelines to ensure the Agency does not inadvertently run afoul of new reporting obligations due to forces outside of the Agency’s control.
• AB 1975 (Schultz) – Support if Amended: AB 1975 requires the PUC to establish a “grid utilization metric” that calculates electrical load as a percentage of rated distribution capacity and creates performance-based incentives and Investor-Owned Utility (“IOU”)- run programs for utilities to meet annual minimum grid utilization metrics. AB 1975 supports Ava’s affordability objective by supporting increased utilization of the existing distribution grid to avoid unnecessary infrastructure costs and support customer affordability. However, staff supports improving AB 1975 through the inclusion of amendments that ensure CCAs can be rewarded for supporting greater grid utilization through demand response and load flexibility.
• AB 2389 (Irwin) – Support if Amended: AB 2389 would extend from 2026 to 2031 the “newly constructed” property tax exemption for customer-sited solar systems of 2MW or less and for new systems that are sited on the property of a public entity. The California Constitution generally limits the maximum property tax rate to 1% of the appraised value of the property when purchased, newly constructed, or a change in ownership has occurred after the 1975 assessment. Existing property tax law excludes any “active solar energy system” (including storage) from the definition of “newly constructed” through the 2025–26 fiscal year. This means that if a property owner installs a new solar system or adds to an existing system, that action alone would not trigger a new property assessment. As discussed in connection with AB 868, incentives for self-generation should be technology-forcing. Accordingly, staff recommends Ava condition support of AB 2389 on a requirement that solar installations be paired with battery storage to qualify for the property tax exclusion.
Attachments
A. Resolution in Support of SB 222, SB 1168, AB 2266 and Support if Amended of SB 868, SB 913, AB 1577, AB 1975, and AB 2389
B. SB 222 Fact sheet
C. SB 1168 Fact sheet
D. AB 2266 Fact sheet
Staff Report Item 5
E. SB 868 Fact sheet
F. SB 913 Fact sheet
G. AB 1577 Fact sheet
H. AB 1975 Fact sheet
I. AB 2389 Fact sheet
J. Presentation - “2026.04.10 Board Item XX 2026 California Legislative Position Recommendations”
Attachment Staff Report Item 5A
RESOLUTION NO. R-2026-__
A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
OF THE AVA COMMUNITY ENERGY AUTHORITY IN
SUPPORT OF
SB 222 (WIENER), SB 1168 (MCNERNEY), AB 2266 (SCHULTZ) AND SUPPORT IF AMENDED SB 868 (WIENER), SB 913 (BECKER), AB 1577 (BAUER-KAHAN), AB 1975 (SCHULTZ), AND AB 2389 (IRWIN)
WHEREAS Ava Community Energy Authority (“Ava”) was formed as a community choice aggregation agency (“CCA”) on December 1, 2016, under the Joint Exercise of Powers Act, California Government Code sections 6500 et seq., among the County of Alameda, and the Cities of Albany, Berkeley, Dublin, Emeryville, Fremont, Hayward, Livermore, Piedmont, Oakland, San Leandro, and Union City to study, promote, develop, conduct, operate, and manage energy-related climate change programs in all of the member jurisdictions. The cities of Newark and Pleasanton, located in Alameda County, along with the City of Tracy, located in San Joaquin County, were added as members of Ava and parties to the Joint Powers Agreement (“JPA”) in March of 2020. The city of Stockton was added as a member to Ava in September of 2022. The city of Lathrop was added as a member to Ava in October of 2023. San Joaquin County was added as a member to Ava in July 2024. On October 24, 2023, Ava legally adopted the name Ava Community Energy Authority, where it had previously used the name East Bay Community Energy Authority since its inception.
WHEREAS the California state legislature consider numerous legislative proposals throughout the year that can have either a beneficial or negative impact on Ava Community Energy and our customers;
WHEREAS Ava Community Energy’s Legislative Program was first adopted in 2019 and has been updated frequently since then;
WHEREAS Ava Community Energy seeks to advance policy positions on a variety of issues including rate affordability, transmission affordability, managing data center growth, utility scale decarbonization, industrial and large load decarbonization, distributed energy resources, transportation electrification, dynamic rates, among others;
WHEREAS the 2026 state legislative session is ongoing and bills are moving through the legislative process;
Attachment Staff Report Item 5A
NOW, THEREFORE, THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF AVA COMMUNITY ENERGY AUTHORITY DOES HEREBY RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. The Board of Directors hereby expresses its support for Senate Bill 222 (Wiener), Senate Bill 1168 (McNerney), and Assembly Bill 2266 (Schultz).
Section 2. The Board of Directors hereby expresses its support if amended for Senate Bill 868 (Wiener), Senate Bill 913 (Becker), Assembly Bill 1577 (Bauer-Kahan), Assembly Bill 1975 (Schultz), and Assembly Bill 2389 (Irwin).
ADOPTED AND APPROVED this 15th day of April, 2026.
Betsy Andersen, Chair
ATTEST:
Adrian Bankhead, Clerk of the Board
SB 222 Fact Sheet Updated 1.7.2026
SUMMARY
SB 222, the Heat Pump Access Act, saves Californians
on energy bills, reduces indoor air pollution, mitigate the effects of extreme weather, and reduces
greenhouse gas emissions by improving access to
safe heat pump water heater and HVAC systems.
SB 222 requires automated permitting for standard
heat pump water heater and HVAC installations,
streamlining the permitting process for a key
affordability and climate technology.
BACKGROUND/EXISTING LAW
Heat pumps are a win-win-win climate solution—
they provide efficient, cost-saving, zero-emission
cooling and heating that can displace dirty and
hazardous fossil fuel furnaces with a single
appliance.
Because heat pumps are highly energy efficient, the
average household in the US can save nearly $400 a
year by switching to a heat pump.1 When paired with
solar and/or battery systems, and outfitted with
demand response capabilities, heat pumps can save
residents even more.
Water and space heating through gas water heaters
and furnaces are responsible for the majority of
greenhouse gas emissions from residential buildings.
Buildings– including both residential and commercial
– are responsible for 25% of California’s greenhouse
gas emissions. . To be on track for meeting
California’s climate goals, at least 20% of existing
buildings will need to convert their fossil-powered
appliances to electric alternatives by 2030.2
1 A Guide to Cutting Costs with Heat Pumps | Rewiring America 2 Neumann, Ingrid. “Key Building Decarbonization
Strategies towards California Climate Goals.” PowerPoint Replacing these gas appliances with highly efficient
electric heat pump devices not only reduces
emissions but also improves the health and safety of
buildings. According to the Rocky Mountain Institute
(RMI), a heat pump installed in California today will
cut emissions from space heating by 93% over the
lifetime of the equipment compared to a gas
furnace. By replacing oil and propane heating
systems, heat pumps can reduce harmful pollutants
like carbon monoxide, NO2, and volatile organic
compounds both inside the home and in the air
outside.3 Heat pumps also provide potentially life-saving AC as our climate warms, regulate humidity, and automatically filter air to boost air quality
indoors.
California has already taken action to reduce permit
barriers for homeowners seeking to electrify and
decarbonize their homes. State laws mandate
automated permitting processes for solar
photovoltaics and home batteries (Senate Bill 379,
Wiener, 2021), require expedited solar permitting
and restrict reasons for denying solar permits
(Assembly Bill 2188, Muratsuchi, 2014), and limit
high fees for solar permits (AB 1132, Friedman,
2023). For electric vehicle charging stations,
California requires an expedited and simplified
permit process focused solely on a health and safety
review (AB 1236, Chiu, 2015), and limits jurisdictions
to a simple nondiscretionary permit type (AB 970,
McCarty, 2021).
Heat pumps have yet to receive such streamlining
— despite heat pump contractors regularly citing
time-consuming and cost-driving complexities
associated with local permitting and despite
ambitious clean air rules and state climate targets
presented at Redwood Energy Zero Carbon Retreat,
January 21, 2021
3 American Lung Association, “Literature Review on the
Impacts of Residential Combustion,” July 2022
Senator Scott Wiener, 11th Senate District
SB 222- Heat Pump Access Act
SB 222 Fact Sheet Updated 1.7.2026
setting the stage for enormous heat pump growth. In
2023, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District
(AQMD) passed a rule to require newly installed
space and water heaters to be zero-emission. CARB
is considering similar rules for residential customers.
Similarly, Governor Newsom has set a building
decarbonization goal of installing 6 million heat
pumps statewide by 2030.
PROBLEM
Meeting California’s climate goals will require a
considerable wave of residential heat pump
appliances to be installed quickly and cost-effectively over the coming years. However, a patchwork of
burdensome local permitting requirements adds
cost, time, and hassle to these clean appliance
retrofits. In interviews, heat pump installers say that that a number of barriers at the local level are
slowing installations of heat pump equipment,
including long inspection wait times, local
architectural requirements, wide variations in
requirements across jurisdictions, high permit fees,
and the need to obtain multiple permit types for a
water heater installation.
These burdensome requirements can drive up the
cost of installations for homeowners, and limit the
time that qualified contractors have to work on other
projects, further tightening the supply of labor
available to meet increasing demand for heat pumps
and other appliances. Because public rebate and
direct install programs for heat pumps require
permit verification, onerous permit requirements
risk impacting the efficiency of hundreds of millions
in funding for heat pumps, much of which is targeted
toward low-income customers. This problem is
costly for California - a recent Energy Commission
study estimated that permitting noncompliance for
the 2022 Energy Code will cost the state $2.8 billion.
California has only 5 years left to install over 4 million heat pumps in order to meet Governor Newsom’s
ambitious target of installing 6 million heat pumps
statewide by 2030.
SOLUTION
Heat pump permitting must be modernized in line
with other pro-climate technologies to improve
access to a cost-saving technology and meet
California’s ambitious climate goals.
This bill would streamline heat pump permitting
and ensure California meets its climate goals by:
1. Mandating automated permitting for
standard Heat Pump installations
2. Prohibiting HOAs from imposing
architectural review on clean appliance
installations
3. Requiring a maximum of one permit for
heat pump water heater installations
4. Prohibiting excessive setbacks, noise
restrictions, or documentation
requirements on heat pump installations
5. Capping fees for heat pump permits to the
reasonable cost of providing service
SUPPORT
● Building Decarbonization Coalition,
Sponsor
● San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban
Research Association (SPUR), Sponsor
● Bay Area Air District, Sponsor
● 350 Humbolt Action
● 350 Sacramento
● AO Smith Corporation
● Active SGV
● California Environmental Voters
● California Association of Sheet Metal and
Air Conditioning Contractors National
Association
● California Center for Sustainable Energy
● California Climate Action
● California State Pipe Trades Council
● Carbon Free Palo Alto
● Carbon Free Silicon Valley
● Carrier Global Corporation
● Center for Biological Diversity
● Citizens Climate Lobby Long Beach
● Climabridge
● Climate Action California
● Climate Health Now Action Fund
● Climate Reality Project, Orange County
Chapter
● Climate Resolve
● Earthjustice
● Efficiency First California
● Electrify My Home
SB 222 Fact Sheet Updated 1.7.2026
● Evergreen Action
● Green Building Initiative
● LG Electronics USA
● Mothers Out Front Silicon Valley
● Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
● QuitCarbon
● Redwood Energy
● RRI: Resource Renewable Institute
● RAMP: Regional Asthma Management &
Prevention
● Resource Renewal Institute
● Rewiring America
● San Diego Building Electrification Coalition
● San Francisco Climate Emergency Coalition
● StopWaste
● The Climate Center
● Western States Council of Sheet Metal
Workers
● US Green Building Council
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Name: Radhika Gawde, Legislative Aide
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 961-651-4011
Office of Senator McNerney (D-05) SB 1168 Factsheet Last Updated: 02/19/2026
THIS BILL
Californians pay some of the highest utility rates
in the country. And rates are expected to climb
even higher with the rapid development of data
centers, because they require large amounts of
energy and often cause utilities to spend
ratepayer dollars on infrastructure upgrades.
SB 1168 would protect Californians from
bearing the costs associated with data centers
in their communities. This bill would impose an
energy usage surcharge on electricity and
natural gas use by data centers and use that
money to pay for existing programs that lower
energy rates for Californians. This will reduce
rates for all Californians, as low- and middle-income rate assistance programs are currently paid for by all ratepayers.
ISSUE
Silicon Valley innovation has been a driver of
the state’s economy, providing economic
growth, general fund revenue, and jobs to the
state. But the industry’s need for huge amounts
of data processing power has led to growth in
data centers in California and around the
nation. According to DataCenterMap, California
is home to the third largest number of data
centers in the United States.
The California Independent System Operator
(CAISO) expects data center load to grow by
2.3 gigawatts by 2030. The CA Energy
Commission reports in their 2025 Integrated
Energy Policy Report (IEPR) that data centers
have requested 18.7 GW of new power over the
next several years, enough to power 18 million
homes. PG&E alone expects 10 GW of new
load from data centers in the next 10 years.
This rapidly increasing demand for power,
along with the need for transmission and
distribution upgrades to deliver that power,
could raise utility rates for all ratepayers.
Californians are already paying the second-highest price for energy bills in the nation, due to wildfire mitigation, extreme heat, and
catching up on deferred maintenance by the
state’s investor-owned utilities.
The state already requires Investor-Owned
Utilities to offer low- and middle-income rate
assistance programs to ratepayers. The
California Alternative Rates for Energy Program
(CARE) and the Family Electric Rate
Assistance Program (FERA) are public purpose
programs paid for by all other ratepayers. Most
publicly owned utilities have similar rate
assistance programs. In 2025, the CA Public
Utilities Commission published a letter to the
Governor offering suggestions on how to
reduce electricity rates in California. One of the
suggestions was to find alternative funding
sources for public purpose programs, which
would relieve pressure on rates.
According to Stanford University, over $37
billion was spent on AI infrastructure in 2024
alone. Another report from McKinsey estimated
an investment total of $5.2 trillion in data
centers by 2030 to power artificial intelligence.
This level of investment shows that AI
companies and investors have the means to
cover their own costs without harming all
ratepayers. Funding existing ratepayer
expenses, like public purpose programs, is one
way of offsetting data centers’ cost to society.
SOLUTION
SB 1168 would:
• Impose an excess energy usage
surcharge on data centers over 20 MW
• Use the surcharge funds to keep rates
from increasing for all other ratepayers
and pay down rates for low- and
moderate-income rate assistance
programs, such as CARE and FERA
CONTACT
Brett Hailey
Office of Senator McNerney
(916) 651-4005 | [email protected]
Senate Bill 1168
Data Centers Pay Their Fair Share
Senator Jerry McNerney (SD 5)
AB 2266 – CPUC Power Procurement Process Streamlining
Summary: ___________________
Determinations of how much energy is necessary to
meet California’s power needs are currently performed
via a patchwork of separately enacted clean energy
programs. AB 2266 directs the CPUC to streamline
these planning decisions into one cohesive workflow, to use consistent methodologies across all programs, and to improve accountability through a yearly evaluation of
the real-world impact of their calculations on actual
energy purchases.
Background:
Reliability is the backbone of what keeps the lights on in California. When wildfires, heat waves, or climate
change-induced weather events push our power usage to
its max, whether California’s energy providers bought
enough power makes all the difference.
Reliability of energy supply is currently influenced by three separate CPUC programs: the Renewables Portfolio
Standard program, the Integrated Resource Plan, and the Resource Adequacy program. As a result, determinations
are performed in separate programs using separate
calculations.
The agency does its best to collaborate and share across programs, but such complex filings are difficult to track and have different standards against which they are
measured. This overlap creates inefficiencies, increases the likelihood for over or under-calculations, and results in longer processes, all of which cost California
ratepayers.
With the substantive foundation for clean energy policy already laid, the next step is to streamline the regulatory processes and integrate the three major procurement
programs to ensure consistency, increase confidence in
reliability determinations, and reduce costs for ratepayers.
Problem #1: Reliability is assessed across multiple
CPUC programs, workflows, and reports.
Solution #1: Create consistent reliability assessments by streamlining reliability evaluations to a single compliance reporting workflow. This bill directs the CPUC to begin the process of consolidating the inter-related reliability components of these statutes into a central procurement compliance filing. It does not dictate the precise process.
Instead, it gives the CPUC flexibility – and almost 4 years – to develop and implement a centralized reporting and
compliance review workflow.
Problem #2: Different CPUC programs use different
reliability valuation methods.
Solution #2: Improve accountability by using consistent evaluation methods across all procurement programs.
This bill creates internal and cross-program consistency by directing the CPUC to use the same capacity valuation – the technical term for how reliable a particular power source is when needed by the grid operator – across all programs when evaluating short-, mid-, and long-term
reliability power needs.
Problem #3: CPUC and the California Independent
System Operator (CAISO) use different valuation
methods for reliability.
Solution #3: Require the CPUC to do an after-the-fact
analysis when the CAISO is required to use expensive
backstop procurement to fill a reliability gap. The bill ensures accountability by directing the CPUC to yearly
evaluate the root cause for the purpose of continuously improving the CPUC reliability program.
Support:______________________________________
Contact:
Jim Metropulos
Office of Assemblymember Nick Schultz
916.319.2044
[email protected]
SB 868 (Wiener) Fact Sheet Updated 3.5.2026
SUMMARY
To save Californians on energy bills and increase the
number of homes installing safe solar energy
systems, Senate Bill 868, the Plug And Play Solar Act,
streamlines approvals and establishes safety
standards for portable solar energy devices. Plug‑in
solar, also known as balcony solar, are portable solar
energy devices that increase consumer access to
safe, clean, and low-cost energy, especially on hot
summer days when air conditioning needs are at
their highest.
Portable solar energy devices are a win-win climate
and energy affordability solution. SB 868 will cut red
tape for this key affordability and climate-friendly
technology, expand access to clean energy to renters
and apartment dwellers, save Californians on energy
bills, and help meet our state’s ambitious
greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets.
BACKGROUND/EXISTING LAW
Californians are faced with record high energy prices.
Electricity rates for PG&E customers increased nearly
40% between 2022 and 2025 and increased 100% in
the last decade.
1 As a result, Californians now pay
higher rates for electricity than any other state
except Hawaii.2
Solar arrays can lower energy costs for consumers
and reduce reliance on investor-owned utilities. SB
868 expands those options to even more
households, especially for renters, condo owners,
and those with older or shaded roofs.
California has long been a leader in the transition to
clean energy. Senate Bill 379 (Wiener, 2022) boosted
safe solar energy system installations in homes by
requiring certain-sized jurisdictions to provide an
online instant solar permitting process.
1 San Francisco Chronicle, “PG&E rates actually going
down in 2026. Here’s how much,” December 30, 2025
Rooftop solar systems have been a major driving
force behind California’s clean energy transition.
Portable solar energy devices, also known as “plug-in” or “balcony” solar, while smaller and therefore less powerful, offer a new way for consumers to
generate safe, clean and low-cost electricity using
California’s abundant sunshine. The portability of
these devices makes them ideal for many different
types of consumers especially renters with access to
a patch of sunlight on a balcony, patio, or small
backyard.
This exciting technology consists of a few movable
solar panels along with an integrated microinverter
that allows the system to plug directly into a
standard outlet where the solar electricity flows
backwards, through the existing wires, to
immediately power other appliances within the
home, such as air conditioners, computers and lights,
and refrigerators.
Where a rooftop solar system tends to be 5,000-
10,000 watts in size for a typical home, plug-in solar
systems are much smaller, sized around 400-1200
watts. These systems can cover up to 1/5th of a
household's average energy usage, and with prices
starting at $500, offer an affordable solution that can reduce energy costs and allow a broad range of
people to directly access the benefits of solar energy.
Because they are so small and mobile, plug-in solar
systems provide a new entry point and more
flexibility to access clean affordable energy,
especially renters. An estimated 44% of California
households are renters, a larger percentage than
every state except New York. And, while the rooftop
solar market serves hundreds of thousands of rental
units, plug-in solar systems are an additional and
2 San Francisco Chronicle, “California electricity prices now second-highest in U.S.: ‘Everyone is getting
squeezed,’” May 2, 2024
Senator Scott Wiener, 11th Senate District
SB 868 – Plug And Play Solar Act
SB 868 (Wiener) Fact Sheet Updated 3.5.2026
powerful tool for expanding access to clean energy
in the Golden State.
Plug‑in solar has already taken off in Europe. In
Germany, consumers facing high power prices and
energy‑security concerns have installed an
estimated four million plug-in systems, adding
multiple gigawatts of distributed clean energy. With
California’s superior sunshine and high energy costs,
the potential for this technology to take off here is
even greater.
Despite the small scale of these systems and their
potential to save consumers significant funds,
utilities like PG&E are pushing for plug-in solar
systems to require full interconnection agreements,
as they would for large-scale utility solar projects.
Portable solar energy devices have also begun to
advance in other parts of the United States. In 2025,
Utah enacted H.B. 340, a bipartisan law unanimously
approved by the Legislature that exempts portable
plug‑in solar devices from the full interconnection
process, which in turn has encouraged companies to
begin selling plug‑in systems in the state and to plan
expansions to other states with supportive policies.
Similar legislation has recently been introduced in
states like Vermont, Virginia, Maryland, New
Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and New York.
PROBLEM
California consumers need immediate relief from
rising energy bills. Growing the market for portable
solar devices will create economies of scale that will
lower per unit costs making clean energy even more
affordable for more consumers.
While portable solar energy devices are a safe and
lower-cost solution for consumers, unnecessary
utility red tape adds prohibitive costs and has
delayed the adoption of this critical technology.
California utilities treat even very small customer-sited solar systems as if they are large arrays triggering complex multi-page interconnection
agreements, expensive building permits, and time-consuming utility approvals. All this red tape makes installing plug-in solar more expensive and time-consuming, effectively cutting off consumer access.
While plug‑in solar is now widespread in Europe and
emerging in other U.S. states, these systems have
not taken off in California due in part to these
challenges and uncertainty around consumer ease of
access.
SOLUTION
By treating qualifying plug‑in solar systems as
simple, household appliances rather than full‑scale
power plants, the bill will unlock a new market for
affordable, DIY solar among renters and apartment
dwellers who are otherwise stuck with the high
costs charged by their utilities.
Allowing access to these cost-saving clean energy
devices will reduce peak demand especially on hot
summer days when air‑conditioning loads are high
while also supporting California’s efforts to cut
greenhouse gas emissions and protect public
health.
Meanwhile, by establishing statewide safety
standards, the bill will ensure consumers have
access to safe, high-quality plug-in solar systems.
In sum, SB 868 lowers consumer energy bills,
diversifies energy resources, reduces strain on the
electric grid, and helps cut air pollution by:
• Defining a portable solar energy device as a
small device that meets a consumer’s on-site electricity needs; • Establishing mandatory safety standards for
a portable solar energy device;
• Prohibiting unnecessary red tape;
• Driving economies of scale for portable
solar energy devices to help lower costs for
all consumers.
SUPPORT
• Environmental Working Group, Sponsor
• The Abundance Network, Co-Sponsor
• Bright Saver
• California Public Interest Research Group
(CALPIRG)
• California Solar & Storage Association
(CALSSA)
• Center for Biological Diversity
• Environment California
• Solar Rights Alliance
SB 868 (Wiener) Fact Sheet Updated 3.5.2026
• The Climate Center
• Caroline Torosis, Mayor, City of Santa
Monica
• 350 Bay Area Action
• US Green Building Council
• Quantum Energy
• Greenbank Associates
• QuitCarbon
• Indivisible Santa Cruz County
• 350 Humboldt
• Samuel Lawrence Foundation
• West Orange County
• Clean Coalition
• Glendale Environmental Coalition
• Recolte Energy
• Albany Climate Action
• Our Green Challenge
• Vote Solar
• SocioEnergetics Foundation
• Climate Action Campaign
• Climate Action Mendocino
• Center for Community Energy
• Climate Crisis Workgroup of Grassroots
Institute
• Third Act Sacramento
• Neighbors for Progressive Action
• Elders Climate Action NorCal Chapter
• 350 Conejo/San Fernando Valley
• Citizens’ Climate Lobby
• SCV Eco Alliance
• GRID Alternatives
• Long Beach Alliance for Clean Energy
• Active San Gabriel Valley
• Orange County Environmental Justice
• Healing and Justice Center
• Pasadena-Foothills Chapter of Citizens
Climate Lobby
• Acterra: Action for a Healthy Planet
• Greenbank Associates
• West Berkeley Alliance for Clean Air and
Safe Jobs
• Laudate Deum Prayer Network for Climate
Healing
• 350 Berkeley Hub
• California Alliance for Community Energy
• City of Santa Monica
• Climate Health Now Action Fund
• Community Renewable Solutions LLC
• Democratic Club of West Orange County
• Elders Climate Action (ECA) Southern
California (SoCal) Chapter
• Greenpeace USA
• Humboldt Progressive Democrats
• Local Clean Energy Alliance
• Local Government Sustainable Energy
Coalition
• Pacifica Climate Committee
• Pacifica Housing For All (PH4A)
• Project Green Home
• Reclaim Our Power: Utility Justice Campaign
• Sonoma County Climate Activist Network
(SoCoCAN!)
• Sustainable Mill Valley
• Sustainable San Mateo County
• Sustainable Systems Research Foundation
• The Energy Coalition
• Third Act San Francisco Bay Area
• Third Act SoCal
• Western Center on Law and Poverty
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Name: Shawntaya Jeanes, Senate Fellow
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 961-651-4541
Senator Josh Becker, 13th Senate District
SB 943 – Industrial Electrification Rates
SB 943 (Becker) – Last Updated 3/11/2026
SUMMARY
SB 943 makes two reforms to provide the Public
Utility Commission (PUC) authority to develop
electricity rates to help commercial and industrial
companies switch to electricity for industrial heat.
This will help keep and expand companies and jobs in
CA while reducing air pollution and GHG emissions
and lowering electricity bills for all consumers.
BACKGROUND
California is striving to improve air quality and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, under pressure to
improve health and meet national Clean Air Act
standards and to reduce GHG emissions by 85% by
2045. Large commercial and industrial firms are a
significant source of both air pollution and GHG
emissions (18.6%)1.
One of the most promising pathways for cost-effective
emissions reductions is using clean electricity, instead of fuels, to generate the heat needed by industrial
processes. Industrial heat – often in the form of steam that is used to cook foods, heat metals, or drive
chemical processes – is responsible for a majority of
industrial emissions globally.2 Fortunately, for many
applications, technologies exist to generate that same
industrial heat from electricity rather than burning
fuels, including industrial heat pumps, electric boilers, electric arc furnaces, and thermal energy storage
systems.
Adding “beneficial load” to the grid – new demand
that more than pays for its marginal cost of service and helps to pay for the fixed costs of the grid– is one of the best ways to lower rates for all consumers.
Electrifying industrial heat could be a very large
source of new load to help lower rates, especially if
this new industrial load can mostly use power at off-peak times when the grid has spare capacity. 1 California GHG Emissions from 2000-2023, Nov 2025
2 According to Gregory P. Thiel, Addison K. Stark, “To decarbonize industry, we must decarbonize heat”, Joule, Volume 5, Issue 3, 2021, producing heat causes 57% of emissions
As state policies tighten the Cap & Invest market and
air pollution regulations, industrial firms face rising costs and need to find ways to reduce emissions while
remaining competitive against other firms outside of
the state that are not subject to equivalent
requirements. If they cannot do so, they may shut
down or relocate outside of the state. Recognizing
these risks, the Cap & Trade statute requires CARB to
minimize “leakage,” which means avoiding shifting
emissions outside of the state rather than reducing
them overall.3 To achieve cleaner air and lower GHG
emissions while keeping firms and jobs in CA, we
need to support viable economic pathways for our
industrial companies to meet these demands.
THE PROBLEM
Today, producing industrial heat from electricity is
much more expensive in CA than using natural gas,
but electricity could be cost-competitive, especially for electricity used during off-peak times. A December
2025 report4identified numerous reforms to make
electricity more cost-competitive while still requiring industrial users to pay for their cost of service and
contribute to the fixed costs of the grid. These reforms could open up a cost-effective pathway for electrifying huge amounts of industrial heat loads to reduce
pollution and GHG emissions.
The PUC already has the ability to make several of the
important reforms identified by the report. For
example, in the middle of the day when the CA grid
has an abundance of solar generation, wholesale
electricity costs are often much lower than the
equivalent cost for natural gas but standard industrial electricity rates do not adequately reflect the very low cost at certain locations and times of day. The PUC is
already working with utilities to introduce dynamic
rates that would allow customers to pay prices that
change hourly, based on wholesale market prices,
which would enable industrial firms to concentrate
load to off-peak times to capture those very low off-3 See HSC 38562(b)(9) and HSC 38505 4 “Unlocking Industrial Electrification in California” by Industrious Labs, Sierra Club, and the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.
SB 943 (Becker) – Last Updated 3/11/2026
peak prices. Another big cost on industrial electricity bills is for “demand charges,” which are intended to
cover the cost of ensuring enough generation capacity
at peak times to serve the customer. Customers who
avoid usage at peak times (and thus avoid adding costs
for utilities to meet higher peak demand) should not
have to pay high demand charges, and the PUC can
already fix this issue by eliminating or reforming
“non-coincident peak” demand charges.
Unfortunately, two important reforms are not within
the PUC’s current authority to make. Both
nonbypassable charges (NBCs) and transmission
access charges (TAC) are charged equally on every
unit of electricity (“volumetrically”), regardless of
whether energy is consumed on-peak vs. off-peak.
Although NBCs are intended to be a relatively small
surcharge on energy bills, they can be equal to 100%
or more of the wholesale cost of electricity (including energy and transmission) during off-peak times,
making it very difficult to make electricity cost-competitive for fuel-switching. The PUC interprets CA statutes to require NBCs to be charged equally for
all units of energy, so a legislative change would be
required to prevent NBCs from doubling energy costs
for customers who are only buying energy during the
times with very low wholesale market prices.
In most other parts of the country, grid operators
charge higher transmission fees for usage at peak
times than for usage during off-peak times. This
makes sense because the grid must be built to meet
peak demand and load at peak times is the primary
cause of grid upgrades. For those other grids, lower
TAC at off-peaks times serves as an incentive to shift
load away from peaks for the benefit of all ratepayers, but no such incentive exists in CA. TAC is under the
authority of the CAISO (and therefore FERC), rather
than the PUC, so the PUC (and state law) can only
encourage the CAISO to consider making reforms to
lower off-peak TAC rates, not require it of them.
5 For comparison, NBCs are ~10-15% of a typical residential customer’s bill.
6 The bill allows the PUC to set a different cap on NBCs if they determine that a different % would be just and reasonable.
THIS BILL
SB 943 will reform the two barriers to cost-effective
off-peak electricity that the PUC cannot fix alone by:
1. Capping NBCs at 25% of the cost of energy for
customers who are electrifying industrial heat.
5 2. Urging the CAISO to reform TAC charges to
consider on-peak vs. off-peak usage.
For NBCs, SB 943 defines “industrial transition
customers” as new, separately-metered load for
industrial heat. It then allows the PUC to apply an
adjustment factor to NBCs (for those customers only)
so that the total cost of NBCs is at most 25% of the
cost of the electricity itself.6 Because this is new load, even with discounted NBCs rates, they will still be
contributing new dollars to the programs supported by
the NBCs, reducing the amount that must be collected
from other customers, while preventing NBCs from
becoming an excessive share of the total electricity bill for these industrial heat customers.
In 2017-2018, the CAISO considered changes to TAC
and proposed a hybrid model that allocated a portion
of transmission costs volumetrically (as now) and a
portion allocated based on load at peak times.7 They
recommended this approach to more accurately align
with cost causation principles – i.e., that customers
who are using power at peak times should pay more of
the costs since that load is driving new transmission
expenses. However, the CAISO never reached a
conclusion on making these changes, and the
proceeding has been “on hold” since. SB 943 urges
the CAISO to follow cost causation principles in
allocating TAC, and it directs the PUC to develop and
issue recommendations to the CAISO for TAC
reforms that would better align with cost causation
principles and to request that the CAISO reopen its
proceeding to consider reforms.
With these two reforms, and other changes already
planned or within the PUC’s existing authority,
electrification of industrial heat can become a cost-effective pathway to help industrial firms reduce 7 “Transmission Access Charge Structure Enhancements Draft Final Proposal”, CAISO, Sept 2018.
SB 943 (Becker) – Last Updated 3/11/2026
pollution and GHG emissions while keeping jobs in
CA and lowering electricity rates for all consumers.
SUPPORT
350 Humboldt
Amy's Kitchen
Antora Energy
Asian Pacific Environmental Network
California Large Energy Consumers Association
Center for Community Action & Environmental
Justice
Clean Coalition
Clean Earth 4 Kids
Climate Action California
Climate Action Campaign
Climate Reality Project, Orange County Chapter
Fresnans Against Fracking
Industrious Labs
Menlo Spark
Natural Resources Defense Council
Net-Zero California
Project 2030
Project Green Home
Redeemer Community Partnership
Renewable Thermal Collaborative
Rondo Energy
Santa Cruz Climate Action Network
Sierra Club California
Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
Silicon Valley Youth Climate Action
St. George Spirits
State Water Contractors
Sunflower Alliance
The 2035 Initiative at UC Santa Barbara
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Ken Branson
[email protected]
AB 1577 – Data Center Energy Accountability Act
Summary
AB 1577, the Data Center Energy Accountability
Act, improves grid reliability by creating
statewide transparency standards around data
center energy usage and efficiency.
Background
The rapid development of the artificial
intelligence (AI) industry is fueling a boom in
data center construction in California. These
facilities, which house the servers and hardware
needed to train and operate advanced AI, require
vast amounts of electricity. According to a recent
commentary from the Public Utility
Commission’s Public Advocates Office:
“As demand for data center services grows,
companies are racing to develop new facilities as
quickly as possible. Interconnecting these data
centers to the grid poses risks for ratepayers
because of the enormous infrastructure costs
required to serve them. These costs may
ultimately be passed on to all ratepayers,
especially if the facilities use less energy than
projected or shut down before the utility has
recovered its associated interconnection costs.
Data centers are unique in their extraordinary
energy intensity, consuming 10 to 50 times more
energy per square foot than a typical commercial
office building. Data center developers in
California increasingly plan to develop facilities
with loads exceeding 50 to 100 megawatts at a
single site – roughly the equivalent of the
residential energy use of Santa Rosa or
Huntington Beach.”
1 The California Energy Commission helps ensure
California’s energy infrastructure is ready to meet
the needs of its population and economy by
analyzing trends in energy consumption and
1 How Will Data Center Growth Impact California Ratepayers? forecasting future demand. Accurate facility-level data is essential to this work, particularly for energy-intensive buildings such as data centers.
The Commission also establishes energy
efficiency standards for buildings, appliances,
and industrial processes, with the goal of
reducing energy waste, lowering greenhouse gas
emissions, and promoting sustainability.
Problem
The rapid expansion of the AI industry is driving
the construction of large, energy-intensive data
centers across California. The resulting growth in
energy demand, combined with the grid
infrastructure development needed to serve these
facilities, risks increasing energy costs for
Californians. At present, California lacks
accurate statewide information on how many data
centers exist, where they are located, how much
electricity and water they consume, how
efficiently they operate, and how they affect
California’s power grid. This information gap
limits the ability of state and local agencies to
plan infrastructure, evaluate efficiency
opportunities, and protect ratepayers.
What the Bill Does
AB 1577 requires data centers to report specified
energy usage and efficiency information to the
California Energy Commission on a monthly
basis, consistent with transparency frameworks
established under the European Union’s Energy
Efficiency Directive, and requires proposed data
centers to provide estimated information to local
agencies prior to beginning construction.
Support
Audobon California
California Initiative for Technology &
Democracy
City of Monterey Park
Little Hoover Commission
Contact
Slater Sharp | Senior Consultant
[email protected]
(916) 319-2673
AB 1975 – Electric Rate Reduction Through Grid Utilization Summary:
AB 1975 reduces electricity rates by requiring utilities to make better use of the electric grid we have already built and paid for. The bill requires the state’s three investor-owned utilities to measure and increase grid utilization through load flexibility programs.
Background:
Utilities have traditionally expanded the electric grid whenever they estimate there may be a need to deliver
more energy. With electrification and data centers, this need could increase faster than ever, driving up electric rates.
Expanding substations and upsizing other components
on the electric grid is expensive, pushing up rates. By comparison, building highways large enough so there is
never a rush hour slowdown would be extremely
expensive. Grid expansion is also slow. Utilities may not be able to expand the grid fast enough, at any cost, to enable transportation and building electrification at the needed scale. A modern solution is needed to handle our increasing electrical needs at the lowest cost, via
resources with the least environmental impact, and at a pace that works.
However, clean, distributed customer devices can be
operated in coordinated fleets to balance electricity
supply and demand within the constraints of the grid.
The timing of electric vehicle charging can be flexible without impacting the needs of drivers. Batteries
installed on houses, campuses, and other buildings
throughout California can be networked and dispatched
remotely in response to grid needs. Building energy
controls for appliances such as heat pumps and HVAC
can adjust the timing of electricity consumption. These assets all create grid flexibility.
Grid flexibility uses existing grid capacity more
efficiently. Many circuits operate significantly below
capacity most of the time, and at full capacity for only a small number of hours per year. Expanding the size of
grid equipment to serve a small number of hours of
higher use wastes ratepayer dollars. We can get more out of the grid we have already paid for by harnessing
batteries and appliance controls in the hours when usage peaks.
Utilities favor grid expansion over modern flexibility
approaches because their profits are a percentage of
dollars spent on the grid. Given expected increases in
consumption, there will still be plenty of need for grid expansion even with extensive flexibility programs.
However, utilities have been sidelining flexibility
programs to limited pilots. Legislation is needed to
require them to bring those programs to scale.
AB 1975:
Requires the CPUC to create a grid utilization
metric and to establish minimum standards for
the state’s three investor-owned utilities under
that metric each year; and
Requires the utilities to establish load flexibility
programs that encourage customers to shift their
electricity consumption from the grid to off-peak
hours, increasing grid utilization and reducing
the cost of grid upgrades.
Support:
Environment California (sponsor)
Contact:
Jim Metropulos
Office of Assemblymember Nick Schultz
916.319.2044
[email protected]
Last Updated 16-Mar-26
AB 2389 (Irwin)
Keeping Solar
Affordable
SUMMARY
AB 2389 extends California’s property tax exclusion
for customer-sited solar energy systems through
January 1, 2032, preserving a crucial incentive that
promotes energy affordability, solar adoption, and
progress toward California’s energy goals.
BACKGROUND
Customer-sited solar energy systems are a vital tool
for managing rising electricity costs. These systems
are a form of distributed energy resources located
close to where electricity is used, rather than relying on large, centralized power plants. By producing
electricity locally these resources strengthen grid
reliability and reduce the need for costly
transmission infrastructure.
In 1980, Californians approved Proposition 7,
establishing a property tax exclusion for solar energy
systems. This exclusion applies to both directly
owned systems and those financed through third-party arrangements such as leases and power purchase agreements (PPAs). These financing
models are widely used by public entities and schools
as 87% of public schools rely on third-party financed
solar projects.
The exclusion is set to sunset on January 1, 2027,
effectively triggering property tax reassessments for
solar installations. This couldn’t come at a worse
time as the 30% federal tax credit incentive for
residential solar has phased out. State policies,
including this property tax exclusion, have
historically helped keep solar adoption financially
accessible during periods of rising energy costs.
Customer-sited solar also plays a crucial role in
helping California achieve its goal of 100% clean
electricity by 2045. Of the 7,000 megawatts (MW) of
clean energy interconnected to the grid in 2024, 23%
came from customer-sited solar and storage.
Maintaining incentives that support continued
adoption will be critical to ensuring these distributed energy resources remain a significant contributor to
the state’s clean energy transition.
NEED FOR THIS BILL
If the Legislature fails to extend this property tax
exclusion, consumers will face higher annual
property tax assessments when installing solar
energy systems, discouraging investment in clean
energy. Schools and local governments who lease
solar energy systems from third parties will also face
higher costs, even though as public entities they are
excluded from property taxes as their third-party
partners will incur property tax assessments that will
be factored into future lease agreements. Reduced
adoption of customer-sited solar and battery storage
will also weaken distributed energy resources that
support grid affordability for all Californians.
THIS BILL
AB 2389 extends California’s property tax exclusion
for an additional five years. The bill applies to
customer-sited solar energy systems up to 2
megawatts, all solar energy systems installed on
property owned by schools and other public entities,
and battery storage systems installed alongside
qualifying solar. By preserving the exclusion, the bill ensures these systems do not trigger higher tax
assessments, therefore, keeping distributed energy
resources financially accessible.
SUPPORT
Environment California
CONTACT
Senay Zedingel| Office of Assemblymember Irwin
Senay. [email protected] | (916) 319-2042
2026 California Legislative
Session: Recommended Bill
Positions
Sam Sadle, Kendall Downie, Dominic Faria – April 10, 2026 2026 California Legislative Timeline
2 January
5: Legislature reconvenes
10: Governor submits
budget
February
20: Bill introduction
deadline
March April
24: Policy cmtes move
fiscal bills to fiscal cmtes
(1st chamber)
May
1: Policy cmtes move
non-fiscal bills to floor
(1st chamber)
29: Last day for bills to be
passed by 1st house
June
15: Budget bill must be
passed
July
2: Policy cmtes move bills
to fiscal cmtes or
floor (2nd chamber)
August
14: Fiscal cmtes move
bills to floor (2nd
chamber)
31: Last day for each
chamber to pass bills
September
30: Last day for Governor
to sign/veto bills
October November December
We are here
3 2026 Bill Review
California legislators
proposed ~1,800 bills
Ava legislative team is
monitoring ~80 bills
"The purposes [of Ava]… include securing electrical energy supply for customers in participating jurisdictions, addressing climate change by reducing energy related greenhouse gas emissions, promoting electrical rate price stability, and fostering local economic benefits such as jobs creation, community energy programs and local power development. It is the intent of this Agreement to promote the development and use of a wide range of renewable energy sources and energy efficiency programs, including but not limited to State, regional and local solar and wind energy production." Ava Community Energy's Joint Powers Agreement
February 20 Ongoing th
4 2026 Bill Review
Ava legislative team is
monitoring ~80 bills
Making
Electricity More
Affordable
Protecting
Community
Choice
Accelerating
Decarbonization
Promoting Local
Development
Increasing Bill
Transparency
and
Understanding
Ava Community Energy Legislative Platform
Ongoing March
Cross-functional analysis of
33 bills
(Internal, CalCCA, Board)
5 2026 Bill Review
Cross-functional analysis of
33 bills
(Internal, CalCCA, Board)
Staff recommends Board take
a position on 8 bills
1. Directly impacts our operations or legislative program.
2. Supports the JPA's vision of an affordable, sustainable, and local energy ecosystem and has broad-based support.
3. Ava's perspective has specific resonance with key decisionmakers and could impact the legislative language or path forward.
March Board Meeting
Today
6 Support:
Staff Recommended Positions:
SB 222 (Wiener)
Streamlines permitting for residential heat
pump water heaters and HVAC systems
SB 1168 (McNerney)
Establishes new surcharges on natural gas use by
data centers
AB 2266 (Schultz)
Standardizes RA valuation across multiple
procurement programs
Support If Amended:
SB 868 (Wiener)
Sets rules for "plug in" solar system
SB 913 (Becker)
Allows aggregated DERs to serve as RA capacity
AB 1577 (Bauer-Kahan)
Requires monthly data center energy use reporting
AB 1975 (Schultz)
Establishes "grid utilization" metric and associated
incentives
AB 2389 (Irwin)
Extends property tax exemption for customer solar
7 Oppose
Staff Recommended Positions:
None None
Oppose Unless Amended
Making Electricity More Affordable
8 Rate affordability via PUC process and
consideration changes
AB 2266 – Schultz
Requires PUC to set a single
RA value for all types and
duration of generation
contracts
AB 1975 – Schultz
Establishes a “grid utilization
metric” that calculates load
as a percentage of rated
distribution capacity
Support If
Amended
Support
Making Electricity More Affordable
9 AB 2266 Electricity: load-serving entities (Schultz):
• Requires the use of a consistent method across regulatory proceedings for calculating how much reliability value different energy resources provide, so that short-term, mid-term, and long-term procurement programs all count resources the same way.
• Requires the PUC to consolidate specified compliance reporting requirements and to provide additional reporting on the use of backstop procurement authority.
Staff proposed action:
Support
AB 2266
(Schultz)
Support: Oppose:
(None yet registered) (None yet registered)
Rate affordability via PUC process and
consideration changes
Making Electricity More Affordable
10 AB 1975 Electrical corporations: grid utilization metric (Schultz):
• Requires the PUC to establish a grid utilization metric to measure electrical load as a percentage of system capacity; requires IOUs to publicly report on that metric; sets increasing minimum utilization targets; and establishes performance-based incentives or disincentives, while requiring utilities to propose programs to meet those targets.
Proposed amendments: Ensure CCAs can participate in and benefit from grid utilization programs while preventing IOU-only implementation.
Staff proposed action:
Support if Amended
AB 1975
(Schultz)
Rate affordability via PUC process and
consideration changes
Support: Oppose:
(None yet registered) (None yet registered)
Protecting Community Choice
11 Managing data center growth
AB 1577 – Bauer-Kahan
Requires monthly energy and
water use reporting from all
data centers
Support If
Amended
Protecting Community Choice
12 AB 1577 Data Centers: reporting (Bauer-Kahan):
• Requires the Energy Commission to establish a process for data center owners to submit monthly reports on energy and water usage, including specified operational metrics. Would also require the CEC to publish aggregated data and incorporate data center load trends into future energy policy reports, and would require similar information to be provided to local agencies for planning and environmental review purposes, while protecting confidential customer information.
Proposed Amendments: Align reporting timelines with IOU-to-CCA data flows and prevent penalties for delays outside LSE control to ensure feasible implementation.
Staff proposed action:
Support if Amended
AB 1577
(Bauer-Kahan)
Support: Oppose:
(None yet registered) (None yet registered)
Managing data center growth
Accelerating Decarbonization
13 SB 1168 – McNerney
Imposes a surcharge on all gas
generation used by data centers
and use funds to support
wildfire costs
Supporting industrial and
large load decarbonization
Support
Accelerating Decarbonization
14 SB 1168 Data centers: natural gas and electricity: surcharges (McNerney - Coauthor Pérez):
• This bill imposes annually set surcharges on electricity and natural gas consumed by data centers, including energy used to generate power for them. It requires utilities to collect these charges and deposits the revenues into a dedicated fund to help offset wildfire-related costs currently embedded in customer rates.
Staff proposed action:
Support
SB 1168
(McNerney)
Support: Oppose:
(None yet registered) (None yet registered)
Supporting industrial and
large load decarbonization
Promoting Local Development
15 SB 868 – Weiner
Exempts portable solar
generation (max output of 1,200
watts) from interconnection
requirements
AB 2389 (Irwin)
Extends property tax exclusion
for customer-sited solar and
storage systems to support
continued deployment
Distributed Energy Resources
SB 222 – Weiner
Requires local communities to
adopt heat pump water heater
and HVAC system permitting
streamlining
Support
Support If
Amended
Support If
Amended
Entirely new bill text
SB 913 – Becker
Requires PUC to expand
eligibility of aggregated
distributed energy resources for
resource adequacy and LSE
procurement
Support If
Amended
Promoting Local Development
16 SB 222 Residential heat pump systems: water heaters and HVAC: installations (Wiener - Coauthors: Allen, Becker, and Stern):
• Standardizes and streamlines local permitting for residential heat pump water heaters and heat pump HVAC systems, including by requiring an option for asynchronous inspections and online automated permitting. The bill would support the State’s target of installing six million heat pump systems by 2030, an objective the State is currently set to miss by roughly two million units.
• In 2025, Ava supported SB 282 (which was largely the same language).
Staff proposed action:
Support
SB 222
(Wiener)
Support: Oppose:
Distributed Energy Resources
Promoting Local Development
17 AB 2389 (Property taxation: active solar energy systems: customer sited: extension (Irwin - Principal coauthor:
McNerney, Coauthor: Blakespear):
• Extends the property tax exclusion for certain customer-sited solar energy systems, including systems up to 2 megawatts and those located on public entity property, through January 2032.
Proposed amendments: Require new solar systems to include battery storage to qualify for the exemption, while preserving eligibility for existing and resilience-focused projects.
Staff proposed action:
Support if Amended
AB 2389
(Irwin)
Support: Oppose:
Distributed Energy Resources
Promoting Local Development
18 SB 868 Electricity: portable solar generation devices (Wiener - Coauthors: Arreguín, Becker, McNerney, Connolly, and Ward):
• Exempts portable solar generation devices from interconnection requirements and prohibits IOUs and POUs from imposing fees or other related requirements. Authorizes utilities to require basic notification of device installation through a simple registration process, as specified.
Proposed amendments: Encourage storage pairing and modern inverter standards for plug-in solar while maintaining basic oversight to protect grid reliability and mitigate cost impacts.
Staff proposed action:
Support if Amended
SB 868
(Wiener)
Support: Oppose:
Distributed Energy Resources
Promoting Local Development
19 SB 913 Resource adequacy: aggregated distributed capacity resources (Becker):
• Requires the PUC to enhance pathways for aggregated distributed energy resources to qualify as resource adequacy capacity and to allow load-serving entities to include those resources in resource adequacy compliance and procurement. Also requires coordination with state agencies and the ISO to update market participation frameworks to support aggregated distributed capacity resources.
Proposed amendments: Enable aggregated DERs as RA capacity while preserving CCA procurement flexibility and avoiding any implicit DER procurement mandate.
Staff proposed action:
Support if Amended
SB 913 (Becker)
Support: Oppose:
Distributed Energy Resources
(None yet registered)
Increasing Bill Understanding and Transparency
20 Other
None
None
What comes next? Bill review and positions
21 • Two action items:
o Propose annual updates to the Ava
Legislative Program
o Propose bill positions (Support,
Support If Amended, Oppose Unless
Amended, Oppose) to MRL, CAC, and
Board
April Board meeting May Board meeting
• Possible Action Item:
o Propose additional bill positions (if
needed) (Support, Support If
Amended, Oppose Unless Amended,
Oppose) to MRL, CAC, and Board
What comes next? Legislative session
• April 24: First house policy committee
deadline (fiscal)
• May 1: First house policy committee deadline
(non-fiscal)
• May 15: First house Appropriations suspense
deadline
• May 29: First house passage deadline
22 First house
• July 2: Second house policy committee
deadline
• August 14: Second house Appropriations
suspense deadline
• Aug 31: Second house floor passage
deadline
• September 30: Veto/signature deadline
Second house
• May 14: Governor's budget revise
• June 15: Budget deadline
• May to August: Budget trailer and cleanup hearings
Budget
Full Universe of Ava Monitored Bills
AB 13 Ransom (D) PUC membership and reporting
AB 34 Patterson (R) Extends the authority of POUs to count large hydro towards RPS AB 61 Pacheco (D) Require PAO to analyze ratepayer impacts of mandated programs AB 705 Boerner (D) Creates independent PUC audit office AB 706 Aguiar-Curry (D) Fire fuel reduction procurement program AB 710 Irwin (D) Dynamic pricing and advanced metering mandate AB 942 Calderon (D) Changes climate credit
AB 1016 Gonzalez (R) State certification exemption for geothermal power plants AB 1020 Schiavo (D) Requires IOUs to report taxpayer funding AB 1117 Schultz (D) Require IOUs to offer optional dynamic rate AB 1156 Wicks (D) Updates farmland solar-use easement statute AB 1577 Bauer-Kahan (D) Data Center Monthly Reporting
AB 1677 Boerner (D) Require IOUs to cut rates by 25%
AB 1738 Carillo (D) Requires local governments to offer remote inspections AB 1761 Rogers (D) PCIA data transparency
AB 1774 Boerner (D) CPUC to audit past IOU wildfire spending before approving more 23 Full Universe of Bills
AB 1774 Boerner (D) CPUC-conducted audit of IOU wildfire mitigation expenditures AB 1787 Schultz (D) Require IOUs to offer a dynamic tariff if smart meter infrastructure is in place AB 1791 Sanchez (R) Prohibits CARB from adopting regulations that would add consumer costs AB 1813 Ward (D) Require CEC evaluation of renewable energy programs AB 1942 Bauer-Kahan (D) Restrictions on class 2 and class 3 ebikes AB 1975 Schultz (D) Grid utilization metric
AB 1995 Patel (D) State Fire Marshal lithium battery working group AB 2057 DeMaio (R) Prohibits city and counties from implementing gas bans AB 2111 Papan (D) Transmission planning alignment with affordability and FERC Order 1920 AB 2175 Garcia (D) Removes advanced electricity storage from smart grid deployment objectives AB 2181 Petrie-Norris (D) Requires PUC commission diversity AB 2182 Irwin (D) Creates IOU run industrial decarbonization program AB 2234 Papan (D) CEQA exemptions for geothermal exploratory projects AB 2239 Carillo (D) Infrastructure-constrained energization areas and IOU energization timelines AB 2266 Schultz (D) RA valuation standardization
AB 2313 Berman (D) Require gas corporations to offer electrification incentives 24 Full Universe of Bills
AB 2369 Rogers (D) Enables partial RA, allowing energy-only resources earn RA value AB 2383 Zbur (D) Require creation of a large load customer class and rate schedule AB 2389 Irwin (D) Extension of customer-sited solar tax exemption AB 2396 Irwin (D) Authorizes CCAs to finance transmission infrastructure AB 2408 DeMaio (R) Require all PPPs be detailed on bill and an annual report to each ratepayer AB 2459 Wallis (R) Prevents withholding occupancy permits for nonprofits, re: EV Chargers AB 2463 Petrie-Norris (D) Require PUC to study IOU return on equity AB 2464 Wicks (D) Require PUC to study clean firm's role in 2045 goal AB 2493 Petrie-Norris (D) Require IOUs to have an interconnection auditor AB 2508 Hoover (R) Creates PPP vehicle to spend GGRF funds on EE programs run by RENs AB 2516 Petrie-Norris (D) California Grid Manufacturing Initiative AB 2518 Sharp-Collins (D) Requires SDG&E to prioritize and fast-track affordable housing energization.
AB 2589 Irwin (D) Requires PUC to analyze OBBBA and adjust rates to reflect impacts AB 2611 Bains (D)
Require PUC to develop rates that do not impose an "unreasonable hardship" on low-income communities in hot climate zones
AB 2612 Schultz (D) Building standards for plug-in solar systems AB 2647 Calderon (D) Bans new nuclear power plants without fuel reprocessing capacity or adv tech 25 Full Universe of Bills
AB 2688 Zbur (D) Spot bill – offshore wind
AB 2699 Zbur (D) Spot bill -- utilities
AB 2700 Gallagher (R) Requires a report to reduce electricity rates by at least 30% AB 2710 Bauer-Kahan (D) Intent of legislature to make changes in IOU bankruptcy processes AB 2748 Quirk-Silva (D) Revert EV regulations to 2022 state building code for BMR housing AB 2762 Boerner (D) Spot bill -- rates
SB 222 Weiner (D) Heat pump water heater and HVAC system permitting streamlining SB 327 McNerney (D)
Prohibits IOUs from using ratepayer funds for advocacy activities related to municipalization
SB 330 Padilla (D) Transmission infrastructure financing pilots SB 332 Wahab (D) Study breaking up IOUs
SB 453 Stern (D) Microgrid incentive program
SB 742 Perez (D) IOUs to remove unused transmission facilities SB 842 Stern (D) Report on firm zero-carbon resources
SB 868 Wiener (D) Plug-in solar interconnection exemption SB 875 Wiener (D) PG&E municipalization advancement 26
Full Universe of Bills
SB 886 Padilla (D) Large load cost shift prevention
SB 887 Padilla (D) Large load CEQA application
SB 905 Becker (D) Utility Cost and Performance Reform
SB 913 Becker (D) Resource Adequacy for aggregated distributed capacity resources SB 924 Hurtado (D) PUC to consider affordability when looking at home weatherization SB 925 McNerney (D) Requires state strategy and permitting framework to advance fusion energy SB 943 Becker (D) Industrial billing and NBC/TAC reform SB 978 Perez (D) Special tariff for large load customers SB 1035 Strickland (R) Suspend gas tax for one year
SB 1097 Weiner (D) Streamlines CEQA for grid upgrades and certain clean energy projects SB 1138 Padilla (D) RA transactability
SB 1158 Stern (D)
Adds status of utility transmission upgrades and electrical grid infrastructure to Reliability Planning Assessment
SB 1167 Blakespear (D) Clarifies ebike definition and bans advertising of non-eligible bikes SB 1168 McNerney (D) Data center gas usage surcharge
SB 1187 Durazo (D) Brown Act meeting updates
SB 1215 Cortese (D) Require IOUs to 3x the number of multifamily level 2 and 3 chargers 27 Full Universe of Bills
SB 1219 Strickland (R)
Requires PUC to consider discontinuation of nonperforming EE programs within 180 days
SB 1233 Allen (D) Requires enhanced justification of CPUC findings tied to utility returns SB 1245 Stern (D) Intent of legislature to address cost containment of renewable integration into grid SB 1282 Becker (D) V2G standards
SB 1295 Stern (D)
Requires PUC to consider procurement of 40GW of storage and allocate procurement to LSEs
Budget
Trailer Dept of Finance
Reallocates outstanding funding from the Distributed Energy Backup Assets (DEBA) program to the Demand Side Grid Support (DSGS) program Budget
Trailer Dept of Finance
Transitions 2026 DSGS participants to the Emergency Load Reduction Program (ELRP) or an equivalent CPUC load reduction program.
28