Photo courtesy of Congressman James Gallagher

WASHINGTON, D.C. (MPG) — Congressman James Gallagher (CA-01) introduced the Affordable Power for Host Communities Act, legislation aimed at lowering electricity bills for families living in the rural communities that help power California.

Rural Northern California is a renewable energy powerhouse. From hydroelectric and geothermal power to biomass and solar, the North State produces a tremendous amount of the clean, renewable electricity used across California. Yet many of the families living in these communities face significantly higher electricity bills than customers of municipal utilities that rely on this power. Gallagher’s bill would require states and nonregulated utilities to consider providing customers in qualifying host counties with a 20 percent discount on their electricity rates. 

“Rural Northern California is a renewable energy powerhouse. We produce a tremendous amount of the clean power that keeps the lights on across this state, but the families who live here are still paying significantly higher electricity bills,” said Congressman Gallagher. “If our communities are helping power California, we deserve some recognition for that when we open our own power bills. This bill is about fairness and affordability.”

The Affordable Power for Host Communities Act amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA) to establish a new federal standard for states and nonregulated utilities to consider. Under the standard, electricity rates for customers in qualifying host counties would be discounted by 20 percent compared with rates charged to customers in the same class outside those counties.

The legislation recognizes communities that are home to major power generation facilities, including hydroelectric and geothermal facilities as well as biomass, solar and wind generation. To qualify under the bill, a facility must have a capacity of at least five megawatts, supply electricity for sale and meet other requirements established in the legislation.

“There’s something backwards about rural communities producing renewable power for the rest of California while the people who live here pay significantly higher electricity bills,” Gallagher continued. “The North State helps keep California running. We produce the power, and our families deserve more affordable electricity in return.”

Under the legislation, state regulatory authorities and nonregulated utilities would have one year after enactment to begin considering the discounted-rate standard and two years to complete that process. The bill also recognizes prior state action to avoid duplicating proceedings where a comparable policy has already been implemented or recently considered. 

The legislation is designed to recognize the role rural communities play in producing the power used across California while providing a path toward meaningful utility-bill relief for the people who call those communities home.