California Public Utilities Commission

California's utility regulators are considering a fiber-only strategy to close the state's digital divide, but fiber can be prohibitively expensive and time consuming to deploy. Newer generations of fixed wireless offer a promising alternative.

While advocates of regulating prices for consumer services and commodities say the practice protects the public, there's a flip side of also protecting the the finances of those who provide the services.

The utilities commission reduced payments to apartments, schools and businesses selling solar power to the grid despite a barrage of criticism. Commissioners say it reverses unfair subsidies.

Angelica Vásquez is one of millions of people across the state that struggle to pay electric bills as California regulators decide on proposed rate increases. PG&E wants a rate hike to bolster the safety and reliability of its services.

After years of planning a broadband system to bridge California’s digital divide, officials deprioritized some low-income areas due to unexpected costs. Gov. Gavin Newsom says he’s committed to funding the entire network, but advocates are skeptical.

California continues to rely on Aliso Canyon's natural gas to stabilize the power grid. Utility regulators should instead be looking to transmission line projects that link Southern California to planned solar and wind farms, helping reduce the state's dependence on gas.

San Francisco isn’t going to take last week’s robotaxi decision by the California Public Utilities Commission lying down. Joined by the city’s transit authority board, fire department and board of supervisors, San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu filed motions on Wednesday to halt the unrestricted expansion of autonomous vehicles for commercial use. Last Friday, the […]

Weighing technology and safety in a closely-watched decision, the California Public Utilities Commission agreed Thursday to allow more Waymo and Cruise self-driving cars to roam San Francisco’s streets.  After six-and-a-half hours of public comment, the commission voted 3-1 to permit the two companies to expand their driverless car operations, enabling them to charge passengers for […]

A new law, Assembly Bill 2316, requires utility regulators to emphasize lower-income households when it assesses new community solar proposals, making clean energy more accessible and providing savings on energy bills. But regulators need to craft the new rules soon to capitalize on the billions of federal dollars becoming available.

Many Californians are still grappling with the hit to their wallets from the costs of, well, everything. That includes shockingly high natural gas bills, which have spiked to double the usual or more due to a cascade of issues: increased demand brought on by cold weather, tightened supply, pipeline and storage problems.  Gov. Gavin Newsom […]