CA To Give Out Millions In New Rebates: Do You Qualify?

More than 11.5 million households will see a refund on their October electric bills through a state program, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday.

The California Climate Credit, created in 2014, issues rebates twice a year — typically in April and October — on natural gas and electric utility bills.

The credit represents each household’s share of California’s cap-and-trade program, which is aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The credits are intended to offset potential cost increases that utilities may pass on to customers to comply with emissions mandates, according to the California Public Utilities Commission.

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The rebate amounts vary by utility, but Newsom’s office said the average credit will be about $61 per customer on October electricity bills.

Here's how much customers of some utilities are expected to be refunded:

• PG&E - $58.23
• SCE - $56
• SDG&E - $81.38
• Bear Valley - $34.91
• Liberty - $63.71
• Pacific Power - $259.36

Notably absent from the list are publicly owned utilities such as the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Only investor-owned utilities and community choice aggregators are included in the program.

Combined with the April distribution, Californians are getting an average of $198 in utility bill rebates this year.

"Up to $60 billion will go back in your pockets, cutting your electric bills while we keep our historic momentum transitioning away from polluting fossil fuels," Newsom said.

Next year, refunds are expected to be larger after Newsom signed legislation last week that would inject more funding, up to $60 billion, into the electric climate credit through 2045.

Since 2014, this program has refunded $14.6 billion to residential utility customers, the state said.

The credits are issued as part of the state's first-in-the-nation cap-and-trade program, which started with AB 32 in 2006. The bill set targets for California to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, which the state met four years early.

The next goal was to cut emissions 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2023 and to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.

In a cap-and-trade system, the “cap” sets a declining annual limit on greenhouse gas emissions, while the “trade” allows utilities and other emitters to buy and sell pollution allowances. Each year, the number of allowances decreases, creating an incentive to cut emissions.

According to the California Public Utilities Commission, utilities receive a set number of allowances from the state, which they can sell at auction. The proceeds are then used to fund greenhouse gas reduction efforts or returned to customers through the April and October climate credits.

How it works

Refunds on October electric bills will range from $35 to $259, with most households receiving between $56 and $81, the governor's office said.

Californians don’t need to take any action to get the credit, which is automatically applied as part of the state’s cap-and-invest program managed by the California Air Resources Board.

Read more about climate credits and the cap-and-trade program at the California Public Utility Commission's website.