California is automatically crediting $886 million to millions of residential utility customers through the state's Cap-and-Invest Program, providing an average of $75 in bill relief during August and September.
Customers of Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison, and San Diego Gas & Electric are receiving the credits for the first time during the peak summer months, according to the state. The California Public Utilities Commission moved the credit timing from its traditional spring and fall schedule to August and September to provide relief when electricity use and bills are highest.
The Climate Credit comes from the Cap-and-Invest Program, which requires companies that emit large amounts of greenhouse gases to purchase allowances for their emissions. A portion of the allowance revenue is returned directly to residential customers as a utility bill credit, according to the state. No application is required; the credit appears automatically on bills.
Since the program's inception 12 years ago, the state has directed over $37 billion toward climate investments, including affordable housing, wildfire prevention, conservation, and zero-emission transportation in underserved communities. Nearly $15 billion of that funding has already been awarded to over 600,000 projects that are complete or in progress, according to state data.
The new summer billing schedule is expected to generate $10 billion for electric bill credits through 2030 following legislation signed by Governor Gavin Newsom last year.
California's grid reliability has improved with the growth of battery storage and renewable generation capacity. Battery storage expanded from fewer than 700 megawatts in 2019 to more than 21,000 megawatts, according to the state. Clean energy met 100 percent of the state's electricity needs for at least part of the day on 279 days in 2025 and more than nine out of 10 days during the first half of 2026.