HomeMy WebLinkAboutAB 1761(Rogers) - Energy Affordability - City of SLO - SUPPORTCity of San Luis Obispo, Office of the City Council, 990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo, CA, 93401-3249, 805.781.7114,
slocity.org
March 18, 2026
Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris, Chair
Assembly Committee on Utilities and Energy
1020 N Street, Room 408A
Sacramento, CA 95814
Re: AB 1761 (Rogers) - Support
Dear Chair Petrie-Norris,
On behalf of City of San Luis Obispo I write to support AB 1761, by Assemblymember Chris Rogers
(D-Santa Rosa), a measure that supports energy affordability by improving transparency and
certainty in how the Power Charge Indifference Adjustment (PCIA), a charge on nearly all energy bills,
is calculated. San Luis Obispo receives electricity service through Central Coast Community Energy, a
local Community Choice Aggregator. As a CCA community, both the City and its residents pay the
PCIA, a fee that directly affects local energy costs.
Electricity bills in California are on the rise, in part due to challenging market conditions and outdated
and inefficient regulatory policies. Families and businesses are feeling the impact. Lawmakers and
regulators need practical, consumer-focused solutions that ensure customers do not pay more than
their fair share.
One tool to ensure customers receive energy bills that are fair and accurate is increased transparency
in how PCIA charges are calculated. The PCIA is a fee designed to ensure customers who leave utility
generation service, like customers of a Community Choice Aggregator (CCA) or Energy Service
Provider (ESP), pay their portion of legacy power costs. But since the PCIA was implemented, there
has been no consistent standard for what data must be made available in any California Public
Utilities Commission (CPUC) process or proceeding where the PCIA, or a related charge, is set.
Without adequate transparency, CCAs and ESPs are unable to verify the accuracy of the PCIA charges
that their customers must pay and cannot confidently forecast rates – both of which are affordability
tools needed to protect customers from unexpected rate increases. Additionally, the lack of
consistent data creates costly disputes and inefficiencies in CPUC proceedings.
To address these problems, AB 1761 proposes amending the Public Utilities Code to require the CPUC
and IOUs to disclose all data used to calculate PCIA costs, including cost inputs, forecasting
assumptions, and methodologies. The bill would also ensure that when parties or the CPUC make
proposals in a proceeding to change the PCIA they provide all the underlying data informing that
proposal. Sensitive information would remain protected through Commission-approved
nondisclosure agreements – a practice already used to protect sensitive information in other
compliance areas.
Greater transparency allows CCAs and ESPs to better advocate for their customers and assess
proposals to change the PCIA. It can also inform cost forecasts and shield customers from sudden
rate swings. It reduces repeated fights over information, improves regulatory efficiency, and
encourages utilities to verify calculations since the underlying data would be open to review.
For these reasons, the City of San Luis Obispo strongly supports AB 1761, an important energy
affordability tool which will strengthen confidence that customers pay their fair share – and not
more.
Sincerely,
Erica A. Stewart
Mayor, City of San Luis Obispo
cc: Members of the San Luis Obispo City Council
Senator John Laird
Assemblymember Dawn Addis
Dave Mullinax, League of California Cities
League of California Cities, cityletters@cacities.org