Sen. Josh Becker bill targets utility execs

Perhaps the most eye-catching part of the bill, however, would tie 20% of executive salaries to electricity rates, meaning that if costs rise faster than the rate of inflation over a rolling three-year period, those employees would not receive that portion of their paycheck. 

“I started really thinking — what are the incentives here?” Becker said. 

This piece of the bill would not apply to CEOs and other positions whose salaries are paid directly via shareholders, but would apply to vice presidents and above who are paid via ratepayers. 

Becker, who has tangled with the utility companies in the past in an effort to reduce skyrocketing electricity rates, said he’s expecting pushback but is hoping to keep the provision in the legislation as it works its way through the California Senate. 

“They’re not happy about it. They don't want the additional accountability, and they don't want this particular piece of accountability,” he said. “They’re going to fight this one for sure.” 

SB 905 also contains provisions to establish performance metrics for the utilities, including measuring reliability, connectivity speed, greenhouse gasses and how effectively distribution grid capacity is being utilized, according to a press release from Becker’s office. 

“Our goal is really, let’s get these clear performance metrics,” Becker said. “We can talk later about what we want to do with them.” 

A previous Becker-authored piece of legislation was signed into law last year and aims to revamp parts of California’s utility structure, creating public financing opportunities for large-scale projects and returning climate credits back to customers. 

As electricity companies develop the infrastructure to expand services and defend against wildfire, rates have skyrocketed. There’s been a 90% increase for Southern California Edison customers in the past 10 years and a 110% increase for Pacific Gas and Electric customers, including those in San Mateo County, Becker said previously. 

The bill passed last year, Senate Bill 254, pushed back on that by limiting utility companies from increasing rates because of wildfire safety investments and expanding access to public financing for transmission projects, although it did establish a continuation account on the Wildfire Fund until 2045 that will require equal contributions from ratepayers and utilities.

The new legislation would take further steps to ensure wildfire-related costs are not dumped on ratepayers, the press release said, in addition to reducing excess utility returns on low-risk investments like undergrounding power lines to reduce wildfire liability. 

The issue of sky-high electricity costs not only impacts California constituents who are struggling to pay their bills, but also makes it less likely that individuals will invest in clean energy like house electrification and electric vehicles, Becker said. 

“This is a really important bill. One of my most important bills,” he said. “The utility affordability issue is really important throughout the state.”