Los Angeles Times reports on the electricity affordability plan aimed to reduce Californians’ soaring energy costs. The article quotes United's Edson Perez, who urges decision-makers to support critical distributed energy resources programs like SGIP and SOMAH, which offer long-term benefits for disadvantaged communities and ratepayers. 

Amid tense, closed-door negotiations, Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic lawmakers have released a suite of seven bills that aim to reduce Californians’ soaring energy costs — including a controversial electricity affordability plan that critics say was substantially weakened by lobbying from utilities and will offer little real relief.

The governor’s eleventh-hour energy and environment proposal also contains bills that would secure oil reserves and streamline the approval process for clean energy infrastructure projects, with Newsom threatening to force lawmakers to return to Sacramento this fall if an agreement can’t be reached on the oil item before the end of the legislative session.

The last minute tug-of-war between the governor and lawmakers left many stakeholders frustrated by the lack of time and transparency surrounding the bills, which must be approved by both houses of the state Legislature by the end of Saturday, when the two-year legislative session ends.

By offering the plan so late, it will most probably get little public debate.

The top item of concern among many environmental groups is Assembly Bill 3121. Critics say the bill seeks to reduce rising energy costs at the expense of several key energy and climate programs.

But the plan seeks to achieve those savings by slashing three programs: The California Schools Healthy Air, Plumbing and Efficiency (CalSHAPE) Program, which funds HVAC improvements in schools; the Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP), which supports the installation of energy storage and generation technologies in vulnerable communities; and the Solar on Multifamily Affordable Housing (SOMAH) program, which helps fund solar energy systems on multifamily affordable housing.

The programs “provide a myriad of climate, health, and affordability benefits to schools, tenants, and low-income communities in addition to the general ratepayer,” wrote a coalition of environmental, education, housing and energy groups in an Aug. 19 open letter opposing the package.

“Cutting them would provide negligible reductions on energy bills in the short-term, while sacrificing the long-term climate and affordability benefits they provide.”

Critics said the plan fails to address the root causes of escalating bills, which include an electric rate setting system that allows the utility companies to earn profits as they build new transmission lines and other infrastructure and then bill customers for the expense.

“Distributed energy resource programs like SGIP and SOMAH have the potential to deliver substantial long-term benefits in terms of affordability, resilience, and reliability for all ratepayers,” read a statement from Edson Perez, California policy lead at Advanced Energy United. “California should focus on leveraging investments that both support disadvantaged communities and ratepayers, rather than reversing support of these crucial programs.”