Becker Introduces SB 913 to Make Better Use of Customer-Owned Clean Power to Lower Energy Costs
SACRAMENTO, CA — Today, Senator Josh Becker (D–Menlo Park) announced legislation to expand the use of local, clean power to reduce costs and increase grid reliability.
SB 913 allows customer-owned clean energy resources like home batteries, electric vehicles, and smart thermostats to compete on a level playing field with traditional power sources to provide grid reliability at the lowest cost.
“Californians are struggling with rising electricity bills, and we need to use our grid more intelligently and cost-effectively,” said Senator Becker. “Instead of always building expensive new infrastructure to meet just a few peak hours of demand, we should be making better use of the resources we already have in our homes. Millions of Californians already have tools like smart thermostats, home batteries, and electric vehicles that can help support the grid. SB 913 ensures we can use those resources to lower costs, reduce pollution, and improve reliability.”
“As peak electricity demand rises, California should look to the millions of local, clean energy resources already installed in our homes and businesses to stabilize the grid," said Kurt Johnson, Community Energy Resilience Director for The Climate Center. "Electric vehicles and stationary batteries, for example, can help meet demand while lowering electricity bills. We look forward to working with Senator Becker to pass SB 913 and deliver clean, reliable, affordable electricity to all Californians."
“California has spent years incentivizing and encouraging consumers to invest in distributed energy resources such as EV chargers, smart thermostats, rooftop solar and batteries to reduce their energy demand across the state, but our policies still undervalue how these resources can be part of the solution to the energy affordability crisis,” said Brandon García, California Director at Advanced Energy United. “SB 913 will allow these local resources to compete in the marketplace so they can reach their full value for the reliability they provide. When we tap into these resources Californians already have, we get cleaner power, lower energy costs, and the opportunity to build a more flexible modern grid where Californians can quite literally be good neighbors to each other.”
“As we continue to strive to meet California’s clean energy goals, there is more urgency than ever to tap into existing clean, local energy resources to power our lives, particularly during the hottest days of the year,” said Laura Deehan, State Director of Environment California. “SB 913 will allow these resources to provide excess power during those moments of peak demand, reducing dependence on dirty gas power plants. We look forward to working with Senator Becker to pass this common-sense bill.”
“California cannot afford to keep treating customer-owned or third party-contracted distributed energy resources as a side program when they can be part of the affordability solution,” said Arnab Pal, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Deploy Action. “SB 913 is about updating the rules so lower-cost distributed resources can compete fairly, deliver reliability, and help California get more value out of the grid infrastructure ratepayers have already funded.”
Electricity demand is projected to grow by as much as 61% over the next two decades, and California faces mounting pressure to expand grid capacity, which is one of the primary drivers of rising utility bills. Yet the grid reaches peak demand for only a few hours each year, often relying on costly and polluting “peaker plants” to meet those short-term needs. SB 913 addresses this gap by updating rules to allow customer-owned resources to compete fairly.
These customer-owned resources are found in many California homes that are increasingly equipped with technologies that can support the grid during peak demand. The California Public Utilities Commission reports that more than 8,000 customer batteries totaling over 100 megawatts are installed each month, adding enough capacity to replace a peaker plant every month.
Programs like the state’s Demand Side Grid Support (DSGS) initiative have demonstrated the potential of these resources. By simplifying enrollment, allowing multiple devices to participate, and enabling energy to flow back to the grid, DSGS has successfully unlocked more than 1,000 megawatts of capacity from customer-owned resources.
However, outdated rules governing the state’s Resource Adequacy (RA) program prevent these resources from providing their whole value to the market. Without reform, California risks leaving large amounts of low-cost, clean capacity untapped—while continuing to invest in more expensive infrastructure.
SB 913 addresses this gap by updating rules to allow customer-owned resources to compete fairly. The bill:
- Removes barriers to participation and simplifies enrollment
- Allows customers to enroll multiple devices
- Enables performance to be measured at the device level
- Allows compensation for energy exported back to the grid
By increasing competition and better utilizing resources Californians have already invested in, SB 913 will help reduce the need for costly new infrastructure and put downward pressure on electricity rates.
“California has a choice: we can continue to build our way out of the problem at great cost, or we can use the capacity we already have more efficiently,” Becker added. “SB 913 is about making the grid work smarter—for consumers, for reliability, and for our clean energy future.”