Becker Bill to Lower Electricity Costs by Better Using Customer-Owned Clean Energy Passes Senate Floor

The California State Senate passed SB 913 by Senator Josh Becker (D–Menlo Park) to create an improved pathway for customer-owned resources (e.g., home batteries, electric vehicles, thermostats), to compete fairly with other resources (e.g., peaker plants, diesel generators) to offer the least cost option for providing reliability to the electric grid.

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.

“California’s electricity demand is growing, and continuing a policy of building more and more to meet just a few hours of peak demand each year is unsustainable and increasingly expensive for ratepayers,’ said Becker. “Today, too many clean energy resources Californians already own like home batteries, electric vehicles, and smart thermostats are not being utilized because outdated rules prevent them from competing fairly. SB 913 makes better and smarter use of the to help support the grid at lower cost by modernizing those rules and helps reduce pressure to build costly new infrastructure while improving reliability and lowering electricity costs for consumers.”

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.

SB 913 is sponsored by The Climate Center and Environment California and supported by a coalition of environmental groups. It now heads to the Assembly for consideration.