California lawmakers are pushing Pacific Gas & Electric , Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric to use their grids more efficiently, as new bills would require utilities to measure and improve utilization. The goal is to reduce peak‑demand costs that currently drive California’s electricity rates to roughly twice the national average. California’s three major utilities have spent more on distribution grids than peers, a mix of wildfire‑mitigation upgrades and infrastructure for EVs, heat pumps and data centers. A 2023 study by the California Public Utilities Commission projected that the utilities could need to invest up to $50 billion by 2035 to meet growing power demand. The bills, Assembly Bill 1975 and Senate Bill 905, would mandate utilities to report how effectively they use existing grid capacity, especially during off‑peak periods. They would also set metrics and penalties to encourage better utilization, with the California Public Utilities Commission expected to start enforcement in 2028. Current load factors sit at 45‑50%, down from 60‑65% in previous decades, meaning roughly half of the grid capacity is underused most of the year. A 2025 analysis by Kevala for GridLab estimates that load‑shift programs could cut costs passed on to customers by up to $13.7 billion through 2030. Phil Ting, co‑founder of Deploy Action, said, "We all know what’s driving up utility rates and bills." Josh Becker, the Democrat who introduced SB 905, told Canary Media that "making better use of the grid we already have — and have already paid for — is paramount." Arnab Pal, Deploy Action’s executive director, added that "then we can do procurement reforms around the technologies that increase utilization." If the new regulations succeed, utilities could shift peak demand onto distributed resources such as rooftop‑solar batteries, EV chargers and smart thermostats, turning them into virtual power plants that reduce the need for costly grid upgrades. The resulting savings could help bring California’s rates closer to the national average while supporting the state’s electrification goals.