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The burden of energy costs became a focal issue in this year’s California gubernatorial race, as multiple candidates have criticized the state’s and power companies’ handling of energy, illuminating the frustration many families have felt as they wrestle with ever-growing monthly bills.
In hopes of addressing some of these woes, Democratic candidate Xavier Becerra shared a plan to offer working-class families free electricity for two hours during the middle of the day. Becerra announced this plan, which he dubbed “Power Hour,” during POLITICO’s The California Agenda: Sacramento Summit on Aug. 11.
“We produce a lot of energy during the hot hours because the sun helps us produce solar energy, take advantage of it,” Becerra said in an interview with Politico. “The best way to get you to readapt, to recalibrate, is to tell you, ‘The best time for you to use electricity today, 1 [p.m.] to 3 [p.m.], and if you do that, I won’t charge you.’”
Specifically, Becerra’s policy would leverage the surplus energy California generates during the day from its solar and wind farms, which is normally curtailed by the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) once the state’s batteries have been charged and to maintain grid balance.
In 2024, CAISO curtailed over 3.4 million megawatt-hours of wind- and solar-generated energy, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
As part of this new policy, Becerra hopes to use this excess by giving families who qualify through the state’s California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE) or Family Electric Rate Assistance (FERA) programs two hours of free electricity between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
Becerra says that the “Power Hour” could reduce a family’s electric bill by about $1,000 per year.
As of now, families who qualify for CARE or FERA receive a 18% to 35% discount on their electric bills. For a household of four, it’s expected that the household earns below $66,000 if they use CARE and below $82,500 if they use the FERA program.
“Californians are struggling to get by. That’s why we’re lowering utility bills by providing working families with up to two free hours of free electricity a day. That’s California’s Power Hour,” said Becerra in his announcement. “So use your air conditioning, charge your devices, wash your clothes, wash your dishes, use your electricity during those two hours, and you won’t pay a dime.”
Steve Hilton slams Becerra’s new ‘power hour’ policy idea
Although some applaud the idea, his opponent, Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton, has criticized it as a “stupid” policy and called it more of a “gimmick.”
“We have the highest electric cost anywhere in the country, apart from Hawaii, entirely because of the policies that he supports, pushing the entire grid towards wind and solar,” Hilton said in an interview with Fox on Aug. 14. “He says you got to change your life, you got to come home from work and do your laundry and do your dishes when I tell you to.”
Hilton, who’s been vocal about his frustrations with California’s high energy bills, has long opposed the state’s decision to shift its energy dependence to renewable sources like solar and wind.
As part of his campaign, Hilton noted that he would end renewable energy credits, audit renewable energy projects, and shift energy generation to other sources such as natural gas and nuclear power.
But it’s unclear if shifting away from renewable energy will actually reduce overall cost.
‘Generating electricity in California is more or less comparable to the rest of the country’
For the last few years, folks have questioned why the average cost of electricity has gone up astronomically for the average Californian. A new report from the University of California, Berkeley’s Economy & Society Initiative, “To make California more affordable, reform regressive regulations(link is external),” provides some insight into what may be causing the growing cost.
Notably, the report highlights that generating electricity is only a portion of the cost reflected on many bills, with the other costs stemming from “subsidies for rooftop solar and spending on wildfire prevention and mitigation.”
“There is no inherent problem with spending heavily on rooftop solar subsidies and wildfire hardening in California. The state has positioned itself as a leader on climate change mitigation, and rooftop solar is an important component of the clean energy transition,” the report reads.
“For a state struggling with affordability, however, the problem with both is the funding structure. Ratepayer-funded subsidies and infrastructure investments are regressive by nature. They hit middle- and lower-income Californians the hardest.”
In a recent blog published in UC Berkeley’s Letters and Science, Berkeley Haas Energy Institute Director Severin Borenstein spoke on the matter, highlighting that “the cost of generating electricity in California is more or less comparable to the rest of the country.
Instead of vilifying renewable energy as the root cause of rising costs, he highlights that a shift in public policy has ultimately made “electricity increasingly expensive relative to other forms of energy.”
Noe Padilla is a Northern California Reporter for USA Today. Contact him at npadilla@usatodayco.com, follow him on X @1NoePadilla or on Bluesky @noepadilla.bsky.social. Sign up for the TODAY Californian newsletter or follow us on Facebook at TODAY Californian.