Legislation saving billions on electric bills, stabilizing gas market and cutting pollution

Article Source: CA Governor Newsom

Governor Newsom signs historic package of bipartisan legislation saving billions on electric bills, stabilizing gas market and cutting pollution

New laws will provide California families up to $60 billion in electricity bill refunds

What you need to know: The Governor joined legislative leaders and advocates and signed major legislation that promises to bring down electricity costs, stabilize the petroleum market and slash air pollution.

SAN FRANCISCO — Governor Gavin Newsom today signed sweeping bipartisan reforms to California's world-leading climate policy that promise to save Californians billions of dollars on energy costs. The Governor’s action comes as the Trump administration continues its efforts to gut decades-old, bipartisan American clean air protections and derail critical climate progress.

Governor Newsom joined members of the Legislature, as well as hundreds of labor, business, climate and energy advocates, at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco where he signed the historic legislation. The package of legislation is expected to lower electricity costs for millions of Californians, stabilize gasoline supply, and continue the state’s world-leading efforts to slash greenhouse gas emissions.

“I just signed into law the biggest electricity bill refunds in a decade — up to $60 billion to help bring down costs for California families. Millions of Californians will soon start saving billions on their energy costs, and the savings don’t stop there – we’re stabilizing the state’s gasoline supply to avert severe price spikes at the pump and we’re making it easier to build the abundant clean energy we need to keep bills lower. On top of all that, we’re doubling down on our best tool to combat Trump’s assaults on clean air – Cap-and-Invest – by making polluters pay for projects that support our most impacted communities.”

Governor Gavin Newsom

The legislation enjoyed overwhelming support from environmental and energy advocates, labor, business, transit and housing advocates, wildfire survivors, local elected officials and climate leaders alike.

“Despite the Trump Administration’s chaos and direct attacks on the Golden State, today we’re proving to the rest of the world California can do anything when we work together,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Mike McGuire. “We’re delivering on a promise to make life more affordable by lowering energy bills, we’re growing our economy and making communities more wildfire safe, delivering clean drinking water to tens of thousands and we’re continuing to deliver real progress combatting the climate crisis. Over the past decade, the Golden State’s Cap and Invest program has helped spur innovation - creating more than 30,000 jobs, building 20,000 housing units and the programs has reduced emissions by 20 percent. Team work makes the dream work.“

“These are the strongest energy affordability solutions Californians have seen in years,” said Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas. “Bigger refunds on electricity bills, more reliable gas supplies, improved wildfire protections for homeowners, and a smarter power grid that will save families billions. We’re keeping health and environmental protections in place while building a cleaner, more resilient energy future.”

“No matter how much Trump lies, he can’t escape the truth: Earth's atmosphere, upon which all living creatures depend, is heating up — and dangerously,” said former California Governor Jerry Brown. “Today, California boldly confronts this reality and extends our world-leading cap-and-invest program. Science over crass nonsense.”

Historic reforms will save Californians billions and cut dangerous pollution

Here’s how the package will impact Californians:

Saving Californians billions of dollars and making energy more affordable.

Together, these policies will save Californians billions of dollars on energy costs and bring down customer electric bills.
The legislation provides the biggest boost to the California Climate Credit ever – which already saves millions of California families more than $100 every year on their utility bills.
Accelerates critical clean energy projects by making them easier and cheaper to build while also further integrating the use of clean energy throughout the broader West – creating more energy supply, improving grid reliability and driving down costs.
By stabilizing the state’s gasoline market, Californians will continue avoiding billions of dollars in price spikes at the pump.

️ Stabilizing California’s gasoline supply to prevent price spikes.

Provides a path for a targeted, locally-led, environmentally responsible and safe increase in oil production in Kern County to boost overall fuel supplies in the state.
Protects the state’s ongoing transition away from fossil fuels by maintaining a more affordable, reliable and safe supply of fuels that is often subject to increasing volatility.
Continues the state’s commitment of ensuring the safety of existing oil pipelines and related facilities both onshore and offshore.
Encourages the state’s oil refiners to continue safe operations and further stabilize the market.

Cutting pollution and creating jobs.

Extending Cap-and-Invest, formerly known as Cap-and-Trade, to 2045 continues California’s world-leading efforts to cut climate pollution and transition to the clean economy of the future.
Doubles down on investing billions of dollars in projects that are cleaning the air in communities most impacted by toxic pollution, delivering clean water and investing in clean transportation options for Californians.
Makes high-speed rail a reality by providing its first-ever stable source of funding, which resolves all funding gaps for the early operating segment in the Central Valley.

Protecting Californians from catastrophic wildfire.

Creates the next generation of the California Wildfire Fund to support wildfire survivors and protect ratepayers from excessive utility liability costs
Holds private electric utilities accountable by requiring billions in investments to modernize and harden the grid at the expense of shareholders, only.

Earlier this week, the Governor approved the first allocation of $3.3 billion from Proposition 4, which was overwhelmingly passed by voters last year. The funding is going to firefighting and wildfire prevention, clean water and agriculture projects.

California’s climate leadership

Pollution is down and the economy is up. Greenhouse gas emissions in California are down 20% since 2000 – even as the state’s GDP increased 78% in that same time period.

The state also continues to set clean energy records. California was powered by two-thirds clean energy in 2023, the latest year for which data is available – the largest economy in the world to achieve this level of clean energy. The state has run on 100% clean electricity for some part of the day almost every day this year.

Since the beginning of the Newsom Administration, battery storage is up to over 15,000 megawatts – a 1,900%+ increase, and over 25,000 megawatts of new resources have been added to the electric grid.

The Governor signed the following bills:

AB 825 by Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris (D-Irvine): Independent System Operator: independent regional organization
AB 1207 by Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin (D-Thousand Oaks): Climate change: market-based compliance mechanism: extension
SB 237 by Senator Tim Grayson (D-Concord): Oil spill prevention: gasoline specifications: suspension: California Environmental Quality Act: exemptions: County of Kern: transportation fuels assessment: coastal resources
SB 254 by Senator Josh Becker (D-Menlo Park): Energy
SB 352 by Senator Eloise Gómez Reyes (D-Colton): Environmental justice: Department of Justice: Bureau of Environmental Justice: community air monitoring
SB 840 by Senator Monique Limón (D-Santa Barbara): Greenhouse gases: Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund: studies