Gov. Gavin Newsom is calling on the Legislature to pass a viable proposal to save California consumers upwards of $1 billion every year on energy costs, savings that would benefit millions of Californians.

The proposal — which is supported by a broad and diverse coalition of clean energy, environmental and labor advocates — enables the expansion of regional energy markets to lower energy costs, cut air and climate pollution, and avoid power outages. 

The governor’s call for action comes after recent studies have found that acting this year is expected to yield more than $1 billion every year in economic benefits for the state — translating to real savings on customer electric bills.

“I’m calling on the Legislature to pass a viable  proposal to expand regional power markets – it’s our best shot at affordability this year,” said Newsom. “Over $1 billion in economic benefits to our state is on the line and failure to get this done will mean higher electric bills, more pollution and a less reliable power grid. Californians deserve action now to make their electric bills more affordable.”

In August, the governor met with the coalition of supporters and thanked them for their work advancing this commonsense plan to further integrate California’s power grid with the broader West.

Newsom’s office said pollution is down and the economy is up. Greenhouse gas emissions in California are down 20% since 2000 — even as the state’s GDP increased 78% in that same time period.

The state also continues to set clean energy records. Newsom’s office said California was powered by two-thirds clean energy in 2023, the latest year for which data is available — the largest economy in the world to achieve this level of clean energy. The state has run on 100% clean electricity for some part of the day almost every day this year.

Since the beginning of the Newsom Administration, battery storage is up to over 15,000 megawatts — a 1,900%+ increase, and over 25,000 megawatts of new resources have been added to the electric grid.