Assembly panel passes bill seeking to lower electricity costs

(The Center Square) – A bill aiming to lower electricity prices for Californians cleared another hurdle on its way to becoming law.

Assembly Bill 710, authored by Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin, D-Thousand Oaks, was born out of an effort to save money for consumers amid increasing energy costs, according to the bill analysis.

It was passed Thursday morning by the Assembly Utilities and Energy Committee. The bill now heads to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

“Californians are facing an affordability crisis in the form of rapidly-rising electricity rates,” Irwin testified Thursday before the Assembly Utilities & Energy Committee. “Dynamic pricing encourages customers to use electricity at times when it is less expensive to generate and cleaner while discouraging use of more expensive and emission-intensive power during peak times.”

The legislation would allow electrical customers to ...