Yes on SB 473

SB 473 Will Help Make Water More Affordable for CA Families

Vote YES on SB 473

Help Make Water More Affordable for Californians

SB 473 will help make water affordable for millions of Californians by rewarding customers who use water efficiently while ensuring those who use the most, pay the most.

SB 473 will help
make water affordable

Providing safe, clean drinking water to Californians is a complex task and requires maintaining critical infrastructure—all of which requires stable funding for maintenance and improvements. ‘Decoupling’ maintains customer affordability by lowering the costs associated with infrastructure maintenance for those who use the least amount of water.

SB 473 will ensure the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) permits water utilities to use decoupling and honor the intent of the Legislature when they passed SB 1469 that promotes water affordability, conservation and protects investments in clean, safe, reliable water infrastructure.

get the facts

SB 473 is a simple approach that just makes sense to:

Promote Affordability and Protect Low-Income Households

Promote Fairness
And Equity

Encourage Conservation without Penalizing Consumers

Support Infrastructure Improvements in Safe, Clean and Reliable Water

Why Fairness in
Water Rates Matters

We all depend on water as a basic necessity, and unpredictable bills create financial hardship. SB 473 will result in financial relief for millions of Californians.

USE Less, Pay Less

When people know they can pay less by using less, they are empowered to make conservation decisions at home and manage their bill.

Control costs

With decoupling, water suppliers will generally have lower fixed charges. This benefits low-volume users – many of whom are low-income customers – by reducing the amount they pay before any water is used and giving them more control over their monthly water bills.

Water Conservation is Critical for California

Weather extremes – including extreme drought – are increasingly common across California. These resulting constraints in water supply mean that conservation is no longer an option but a must. SB 473 will help promote water conservation and help California address the impacts of climate change by empowering consumers to make conscious water conservations decisions at home every day.

THE HISTORY OF DECOUPLING IN CALIFORNIA

1982

CA PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION ESTABLISHES DECOUPLING FOR ENERGY UTILITIES

Decoupling put in place for California electric utilities to encourage energy conservation.

2008

CA PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION ESTABLISHES DECOUPLING FOR DRINKING WATER SUPPLIERS

After success with electric utilities, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) established a pilot decoupling program for the largest water utilities it regulates to promote water conservation during reoccurring droughts. Drinking water suppliers were allowed to implement decoupling in their General Rate Cases. The ratemaking mechanism ‘decoupled’ the water supplier’s revenue from volumetric sales to encourage water conservation.

2015

CA IN SEVERE DROUGHT: UNPRECEDENTED ACTION

Governor Jerry Brown issued an executive order requiring urban water suppliers to cut water use by 25% statewide compared to 2013 levels. This was the first-ever statewide mandatory water reduction order in California’s history. Drinking water suppliers with decoupling consistently exceed the conservation requirements and are recognized by the State Water Board for their success.

August 2020

CA PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION REVOKES DECOUPLING

The CPUC issued decision 20-08-047, which prohibited water utilities from proposing to continue their decoupling mechanisms in their next general rate cases, thereby ending the decoupling pilot program.

2021

CA IN SEVERE DROUGHT: INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS

State Water Resources Control Board requires all drinking water suppliers to cut usage by 15% and establishes reporting requirements to track compliance.

May 2022

DRINKING WATER SUPPLIERS PETITION THE CA SUPREME COURT

The Golden State Water Company vs. Public Utilities Commission was filed in response to the PUC’s decision to end the ability to use decoupling.

September 2022

STATE LEGISLATURE PASSES SB 1469 TO REQUIRE CPUC TO CONSIDER DECOUPLING

In response to the CPUC’s decision to end decoupling, the California State Legislature passed and Governor Newsom signed SB 1469 to make decoupling a permanent program and make clear that water suppliers be authorized to use decoupling mechanism to further incentive conservation and stabilize water rates. The bill was supported by labor, business, consumer and environmental groups, low-income advocates and local governments.

July 2024

STATE WATER RESOURCES CONTROL BOARD ENCOURAGES THE USE OF DECOUPLING

The State Water Resources Control Board passes regulations to implement AB 1669 and SB 606 (2018), “Making Conservation a Way of Life” and encourages drinking water suppliers to use decoupling to encourage customer conservation of water.

July 2024

CA SUPREME COURT RULES CPUC WRONGLY ELIMINATED DECOUPLING

The California Supreme Court ruled unanimously in favor of water utilities challenging the CPUC’s 2020 decision. The court found that the CPUC had not provided adequate notice regarding the potential elimination of decoupling mechanisms during the proceedings leading up to Decision 20-08-047 and failed to give interested parties the opportunity to be heard on value of this important rate-making mechanism.

December 2024

CPUC DENIES DECOUPLING FOR CALIFORNIA AMERICAN WATER

January 2025

CPUC DENIES DECOUPLING FOR GOLDEN STATE WATER

January 2025

CA LEGISLATURE INTRODUCES BILL TO MANDATE DECOUPLING

Senator Padilla introduces SB 473 to require the CPUC to honor requests from water suppliers to utilize decoupling when requested and honor the intent of the Legislature when they passed SB 1469 in 2022.

JOIN the Coalition

Join the growing coalition supporting SB 473 to prioritize water affordability for millions of Californians.