California: Governor Newsom delivers $886 million in utility bill relief, with millions of households receiving an average of $75 this summer

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Sep 22, 2026

Governor Newsom delivers $886 million in utility bill relief, with millions of households receiving an average of $75 this summer

While Donald Trump makes life more expensive for Americans, California is putting money directly back in Californians' pockets when summer electricity use is at its highest

What you need to know:  California Climate Credits are being added to summer utility bills for millions of residential customers of PG&E, Southern California Edison, and San Diego Gas & Electric, putting $886 million back in Californians' pockets. Polluters foot the bill, not ratepayers.

SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced during Climate Week NYC that millions of California households are receiving automatic credit on their electricity bills this August and September, providing an average of $75 in relief on monthly bills.

For the first time, eligible residential electric customers of PG&E, Southern California Edison, and San Diego Gas & Electric are receiving the credit during August and September when summer heat drives more electricity use. The credits are automatic, require no application, and will put a total of $886 million back in the pockets of California electric customers this year.

At a time when Donald Trump's policies are making life more expensive for Americans at the grocery store, gas pump, and virtually everywhere else, California is making polluters pay and delivering that money back to millions of households when summer utility bills are at their highest. These credits are real relief to families across the Golden State.

Governor Gavin Newsom

Californians do not need to do anything to receive their credit because it appears automatically on their utility bill.

See your bill credit amount

What is the Climate Credit?

The California Climate Credit comes from the state's Cap-and-Invest Program, which is managed by the California Air Resources Board. Companies that emit large amounts of climate pollution must purchase allowances for their emissions. Some of those funds are returned directly to residential customers as a credit on their utility bills.

In addition to electric bill refunds, California's Cap-and-Invest program has generated $37 billion in climate investments, supporting more than 143,000 jobs and cutting millions of tons of carbon emissions. The investments include a wide range of solutions such as putting affordable housing near job centers, wildfire prevention, conservation, and adding zero-emission transportation options in underserved communities. Since the program's inception 12 years ago, over $21 billion in funding has been awarded, with nearly $15 billion of that having already gone to over 600,000 projects that are complete or in progress.

The investments are a key part of Governor Newsom's build more, faster agenda, delivering infrastructure upgrades and creating jobs across the state.

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Relief when Californians need it most

The CPUC moved the timing of the electric Climate Credit from its traditional spring and fall schedule to the hottest, highest-bill months of the year, ensuring Californians receive relief when it can make the greatest difference. Residential customers of PG&E, Southern California Edison, and San Diego Gas & Electric receive the Climate Credit in August and September, while smaller electric utilities continue on a separate schedule.

The new timing follows historic legislation that Governor Newsom, in partnership with the Legislature, signed last year to ensure Californians receive the maximum benefit from the state's Cap-and-Invest Program. That legislation is expected to generate $10 billion for electric-bill Climate Credits through 2030.

California's clean energy leadership

Since Governor Newsom took office in 2019, California has added more than 37,000 megawatts of utility-scale clean and renewable energy to serve the California grid — and battery storage has ramped up from fewer than 700 MW to more than 21,000 MW, helping make the grid more reliable and pushing the state further along its clean energy transition.

Batteries play a key role in California's goal of getting all of its electricity from clean sources by 2045. The most recent numbers, from the end of 2024, show real progress: 67% of retail electricity sales in the state already come from clean energy. Last year, clean energy met 100% of the state's electricity needs for at least part of the day on 279 separate days. So far in 2026, that's happened on more than nine out of 10 days during the first half of the year.

California is building this fleet safely. In 2024, Governor Newsom launched a State Battery Storage Safety Collaborative that has already delivered updated fire codes, new state oversight of battery facilities, and stronger safety standards statewide. The CPUC helps maintain electric grid reliability for the public by ensuring power plants and energy storage systems comply with CPUC standards for operations and maintenance.

Clean energy is also good for the economy. California leads the nation in total clean energy jobs, with 552,300 workers employed across clean energy technologies, nearly twice as many as the second-ranked state, Texas, according to a 2025 report from E2. California's clean energy workforce grew by nearly 7,300 workers in 2024, outpacing job growth in the rest of the state's economy by more than three times.

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