We can lower the cost of utility bills in California. Newsom has decided he wants you to pay more—so he is hiding the information on how to cut utility bills. Why isn’t the media yelling about this? Why isn’t the public screaming for him to stop harming the poor and middle class? Of course, one sure way to lower utility costs is to allow drilling for oil and new refineries—but as a Luddite, he wants you back in the middle ages—poor and in the dark.
“A recent report by the California Legislature’s top financial and policy advisor showed Californians pay the second highest utility prices in the country, and those rising rates have been outpacing inflation.
To address the rising utility costs, Newsom signed an executive order on Oct. 30 in which he directed the California Energy Commission and California Public Utilities Commission to analyze and make recommendations around pricier state programs that could be changed or potentially cut. Those recommendations were due to his office by Jan. 1.
Since Jan. 2, KCRA 3 has repeatedly asked for copies of the recommendations and analyses. The governor’s office confirmed then that it had received the reports but would not release them when asked in early January. On Jan. 7, KCRA 3 filed a California Public Records Act request to get the information.”
My guess is that the report will show that the higher costs are due to Newsom and his policies. California needs a Revolution in 2026.
Gov. Newsom’s administration withholds records on how the state could make utility bills more affordable
Ashley Zavala. KCRA. 2/17/25 https://www.kcra.com/article/newsom-administration-withholds-records-utility-bills/63821683
State agencies within Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration have either stalled or refused to release records that could show how Californians could save money on their utility bills.
A recent report by the California Legislature’s top financial and policy advisor showed Californians pay the second highest utility prices in the country, and those rising rates have been outpacing inflation.
To address the rising utility costs, Newsom signed an executive order on Oct. 30 in which he directed the California Energy Commission and California Public Utilities Commission to analyze and make recommendations around pricier state programs that could be changed or potentially cut. Those recommendations were due to his office by Jan. 1.
Since Jan. 2, KCRA 3 has repeatedly asked for copies of the recommendations and analyses. The governor’s office confirmed then that it had received the reports but would not release them when asked in early January. On Jan. 7, KCRA 3 filed a California Public Records Act request to get the information.
The California Public Utilities Commission in response on Jan. 16 told KCRA that it would not release the report, claiming the records were privileged information under a section in state law that protects communications between the governor and his staff.
The commission said it would provide KCRA 3 with an update in 30 days on other records related to the request. As of Monday, more than 30 days later, KCRA 3 had yet to hear from the commission.
Meanwhile, the California Energy Commission and Governor’s Legal Unit said the agencies were still gathering records associated with the request and that they would provide KCRA 3 an update on their search by late February.
On Monday, after KCRA 3 reached out to the governor’s office for comment while finalizing this story, a spokesman for Gov. Newsom said the CPUC and CEC planned to publish their reports on Tuesday.
“I think it’s disappointing, I think it’s frustrating,” Democratic Irvine Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris told KCRA 3 in an interview. Petrie-Norris leads the Assembly’s Utilities and Energy Committee.
“We all know that California families are struggling with high utility costs. They expect us to take a really hard look at their bills and find ways to bring them down,” she said.
“I look forward to seeing that record myself,” said Democratic Silicon Valley State Senator Aisha Wahab.
Wahab last week filed a bill to limit rate increases for the state’s investor-owned utility companies. The proposal came as PG&E announced it had raked in $2.5 billion in profits in 2024 and after the California Public Utilities Commission approved six rate increases for the utility that year.
“One executive order aside, we also heard this multiple times throughout the year last year so at this point in time we need to hear from the CEC and CPUC,” Wahab said.
“Boy that’s broad,” Adjunct McGeorge School of Law Professor and long-time lobbyist Chris Micheli told KCRA 3 as he reviewed the CPUC’s response to KCRA 3’s record request.
“The governor’s office correspondence exemption may be applicable here, but it has to be counterbalanced with the general interest of the public itself,” Micheli said. “At this stage, a month and a half later, it should be out in the public domain and also under consideration by the legislature.”
“Legally, he doesn’t have to release it,” said Republican Roseville State Senator Roger Niello, who said the state’s renewable energy push is likely having the greatest impact on what Californians are paying on their bills. “He’s asking a question that he’s going to see what the answer is and if the answer is something he doesn’t like, he’s not going to release the report, and in my opinion, that is certainly what is happening.”
The California Public Utilities Commission is expected to testify at a hearing in the State Senate on Wednesday afternoon. The hearing will focus on utility affordability and the state’s environmental goals.
The politicians in California would make utilities more affordable if they stopped taking kickbacks from the utility companies.