An act to add Section 739.4 to the Public Utilities Code, relating to public utilities, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately. California Alternate Rates for Energy or CARE program. Existing law makes a violation of provisions of the Public Utilities Act a crime. This bill, by imposing new requirements on regulated utilities, would expand the scope of that crime, and thus impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state.
Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason . This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute. The extraordinarily high costs of electricity and natural gas are threatening the economic well-being of the state. The energy burden borne by low-income and senior customers is greater than the energy burden of most other households in California. This paragraph shall apply on a one-time basis only for individual customers.