Advocates Recommend Key Solutions in California’s Historic Utility Rulemaking

Decision Will Determine How Utilities Design and Charge Customers for Energy 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 19, 2026 

Sacramento, CA– Vote Solar, along with the Center for Biological Diversity and GRID Alternatives, submitted joint comments in response to the California Public Utilities Commission’s (CPUC) order initiating a rulemaking to update how electric utilities design electricity rates and charges. This rulemaking could shape how electricity costs are divided among customers, businesses, data centers, and low-income communities, while also having meaningful implications for local solar, electrification, and energy equity for years to come. 

California’s residential electricity rates have not undergone a major restructuring since 2015, and this proceeding will examine how electricity rates are structured in California, with a focus on affordability, fairness, and the state’s energy and climate goals. The CPUC will review time-of-use pricing, fixed and usage-based charges, and the impact of large new electricity demands such as data centers. It will also consider redesigning the rate structures for commercial and industrial customers to better support electrification and flexible energy use. Throughout the proceeding, affordability and equity for low-income customers and disadvantaged communities will remain central considerations.

“The decisions that are made will help shape California’s energy future,” said Claudine Custodio, Vote Solar’s Regulatory Director for the West. “This proceeding is the CPUC’s opportunity to embrace clean energy solutions, like solar, to hold large energy users accountable, and to ensure that the benefits of clean, affordable energy reach the Californians who need it the most.”

In the comments submitted, advocates urged the Commission to prioritize communities and affordability in its decisions by adopting time-of-use rates that support energy savings and electrification, designing fixed charges that protect low- and moderate-income customers from high energy bills while supporting equitable access to local clean energy resources, and establishing clear requirements for data centers and other large energy users to ensure they pay their fair share and contribute to the energy grid and community resilience. The comments also called for an overall rate structure that promotes local clean energy resources, like solar and storage, as tools for affordability, reliability, and resilience. 

“California’s rate structure should work for communities, not against them,” said Custodio. “The Commission has an obligation to serve its customers. Its decision in this historic rulemaking should strengthen both affordability and resilience by putting communities at the center of its decisions.”

About Vote Solar

Vote Solar is a nonprofit advocacy organization working to advance state-level policies that make solar solutions accessible to all. Since 2002, Vote Solar has worked to build an equitable clean energy future by leveraging deep policy expertise, strategic partnerships, and public engagement. In the face of powerful opposition, Vote Solar champions bold solutions that expand clean energy access, drive investment in frontline communities, and accelerate the transition to 100% clean energy.