California moves to limit utility profits and tap more power from homes

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Set us as preferred In the final hours of the 2026 California legislative season, Gov.Gavin Newsom signed a suite of closely watched legislation on energy and the environment.

Among them are laws that will reshape how California pays for and operates its energy system — including limiting utility profit and making greater use of clean energy at home — and how the state protects itself against environmental challenges from the federal government.Senate Bill 913 from Sen.

Josh Becker (D-Menlo Park) will advance the use of virtual power plants — networks of customer-owned home batteries, solar panels, electric vehicle chargers and smart thermostats — that can be linked together to relieve the state’s electric grid during times of peak demand.Specifically, the law directs the California Public Utilities Commission to create a pathway for these separate devices to be aggregated to export electricity by June 30, 2027.

Existing rules limited how much people can be paid for the electricity these appliances provide for the grid.“Instead of simply building more expensive infrastructure and passing those costs on to ratepayers, SB 913 helps us get more out of the resources Californians have already paid for,” Becker said in a statement.

“That means more competition, a cleaner and more reliable grid, and an opportunity to lower costs for everyone.” Climate & Environment A new California law legalizes the plug-in solar panels that are becoming popular in other states and in Europe.A related bill from Becker, SB 905, will require the CPUC to consider lowering utilities’ profit on lower-risk investments, such as undergrounding power lines.Utilities often see a return of 9% or 10% on new transmission projects.

It will also require utilities to identify where the existing grid has room for more electricity — and ...