August 19th, 2026
The Honorable Chris Rogers
California State Assembly
1021 0 Street, Room 5130
Sacramento, CA 95814
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Re: Assembly Bill 1761-Electricity: calculation methodology: nonbypassable charges: data disclosure-SUPPORT (As Amended August 13, 2026}
On behalf of the City of Santa Rosa, I am writing in support of Assembly Bill (AB) 1761, which would require the California Public Utilities Commission to disclose data underlying its decisions regarding the development or application of nonbypassable charge calculation methodologies.
California's regulatory framework governing nonbypassable charges imposes costs directly on retail electric customers, and transparency in the methodologies used to calculate those charges is essential to ensuring they are accurate and reasonable . The Power Charge Indifference Adjustment (PCIA) is a nonbypassable charge imposed on customers receiving service from Community Choice Aggregators or Energy Service Providers to recover legacy generation costs.
Since the PCIA's implementation, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has adopted no uniform standard requiring disclosure of the data underlying PCIA calculations in Commission proceedings or decisions. This prevents alternative service providers and ratepayer advocates from verifying the accuracy of PCIA charges or reliably forecasting customer rates, and generates avoidable disputes and inefficiencies in CPUC proceedings.
AB 1761 remedies this by requiring the CPUC and investor-owned utilities to disclose all data used to calculate PCIA costs, including cost inputs, forecasting assumptions, and calculation methodologies. Any party submitting a proposal to modify the PCIA must provide the underlying supporting data. Sensitive information would remain protected through CPUC-approved nondisclosure agreements, consistent with established practice in other regulatory contexts.
AB 1761 would strengthen the ability of alternative service providers and ratepayer advocates to evaluate PCIA proposals, eliminate duplicative information requests, improve regulatory efficiency, and promote accuracy through transparent review of support ing data.
CITY COUNCIL
100 Santa Rosa Avenue, Rooml0
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Phone : 707-543-3010 Fax: 707-543-3030
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For these reasons, we are pleased to support AB 1761 and thank you for your leadership on this most important issue. Should you have any questions, please contact our legislative advocate Dane Hutchings ~ olicyGroupat916-974-9270 ~~ t- o,(t.., > t~.I..,_._
MarkStapp, ~ / IA ~ 0 /
Mayor, City of Santa Rosa Cf l., ~ ~ -f.. -,-c-c_. CV'V V~ J I_J(' l,Af "f CC:
The Honorable Mike McGuire, Senate District 2 0 <-\ ~,I.._+ <::;-V"- --Z: ;;- f b ~• 0- The Honorable Damon Connolly, Assembly District 12 ~ t,/ / U /S~ l.u-S "
CITY COUNCIL
100 Santa Rosa Avenue, Rooml0
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Phone: 707-543-3010 Fax: 707-543-3030