Assembly BillFailedPublic Utilities
AB 286: Electricity: mandatory rate reduction.
What AB 286 does, verified February 3, 2026
The bill aims to reduce the kilowatt-per-hour rate for electricity charged to ratepayers by at least 30%. The Public Utilities Commission will be required to make this reduction while following certain actions, including ensuring the reduction is implemented in a fair and equitable manner. The goal is to provide a mandatory rate reduction to help ratepayers save money on their electricity bills.
Bill journey
✓IntroducedComplete
2In CommitteeCurrent
3First Chamber FloorPending
4Second ChamberPending
5GovernorPending
6ChapteredPending
Last action: From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56. (2026-02-02)Alert me
Author and sponsors
Full contact details, staff, and committees with Connect, $16/moUnlockRecent actions12 total · showing 5
| Feb. 02, 2026 | From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56. |
| Jan. 31, 2026 | Died pursuant to Art. IV, Sec. 10(c) of the Constitution. |
| May. 23, 2025 | In committee: Held under submission. |
| May. 14, 2025 | In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to suspense file. |
| May. 01, 2025 | From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 18. Noes 0.) (April 30). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. |
Latest bill textAmended version, April 21, 2025 · 373 words
| Amended IN Assembly April 21, 2025 |
| Amended IN Assembly March 17, 2025 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 286
| Introduced by Assembly Member Gallagher |
January 22, 2025 |
An act to add Section 739.15 to the Public Utilities Code, relating to electricity.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 286, as amended, Gallagher. Electricity: mandatory rate reduction.
Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Existing law authorizes the commission to fix the rates and charges for every public utility and requires that those rates and charges be just and reasonable.
This bill would require the commission to reduce generate a report outlining recommendations to decrease the kilowatt-per-hour rate for electricity charged to ratepayers by not less than 30%. 30% by January 1, 2027. The bill would require the commission, in making that reduction, those reduction recommendations, to take certain actions, as specified.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 739.15 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to read:739.15.
(a) The commission shall(b) In making the reduction recommendations pursuant to subdivision (a), the commission shall do all of the following:
(1) Review each public purpose program that is not cost effective, and evaluate each public purpose program that the commission has not yet evaluated for cost-effectiveness.
(2) For purposes of the climate credit described in Section 748.5, consider adopting the suggestions made by the commission in its CPUC Response to Executive Order No. N-5-24 (February 18, 2025).
(3) Pursuant to the commission’s authority under Section 314.6, audit costs claimed by an electrical corporation for implementing its wildfire mitigation plans and, to the extent those costs are unreasonable, reduce recommend reducing rates accordingly.
(4) Evaluate each program listed in Table A-2 of the commission’s CPUC Response to Executive Order No. N-5-24 (February 18, 2025) for cost-effectiveness, if the commission has not yet evaluated the program for cost-effectiveness. For a program that the commission determines is not cost effective, eliminate, reform, or recommend action by the Legislature.
Text of AB 286 as amended, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions