Electric and gas utilities face new disclosure rules in California

In California, a utility asking customers to help pay for work would also have to say whether it has already applied for or received at least $1 million in taxpayer funding. AB 1715 would change the reporting rules for electrical corporations and gas corporations regulated by the Public Utilities Commission, or PUC.

The bill does not block public money. It would make the overlap visible when a utility is also looking to ratepayers to cover the same project or program.

The money behind the request

The trigger is set at $1 million. Utilities would have to report taxpayer funding at or above that amount that they have applied for or received. And when they seek ratepayer funding from the commission, they would also have to disclose relevant taxpayer funding they are pursuing or have already secured.

That matters because utility financing is often built from more than one source. A project can carry grants, loans or other public support long before customers ever see it in a rate filing. AB 1715 is meant to keep that picture from getting split into separate, easier-to-ignore pieces.

What regulators would see

If the commission decides a utility is not complying, it could require compliance and pursue enforcement action, including a penalty. The PUC would also have to file an annual report to lawmakers starting Jan. 1, 2028, summarizing the taxpayer funding each utility reported, the source of the money, the total received, the projects it supported and the ratepayer savings tied to it.

Recorded votes show the bill cleared a floor vote. For customers, the practical effect is not an automatic rate cut. It is a clearer ledger when public subsidies and utility charges overlap.