California heat shutoff rules add new protections for utility customers

California lowers heat shutoff threshold

California regulators approved broader protections for residential electric customers behind on bills during high heat, lowering the disconnection trigger from 100 degrees to 90 degrees across utility territories.

The California Public Utilities Commission adopted the rule by unanimous vote after finding the utilities’ plan left households with limited safeguards during high temperatures across covered service areas.

What the new protection covers

The rule covers residential electric disconnections for unpaid bills. It excludes service losses from equipment problems, wildfire-prevention outages, grid emergencies, and unrelated operational events outside normal billing enforcement.

Customers still must address past-due balances, but utilities must pause disconnection activity when forecast heat reaches the new trigger within a 72-hour look-ahead period for covered residential accounts.

Why the old rule drew concern

Earlier rules barred unpaid-bill disconnections only when forecasts rose above 100 degrees, using one trigger for coastal, mountain, and inland communities across California with differing local heat norms.

Regulators found that approach too narrow because many places face health risks below 100 degrees, especially where households lack cooling systems or routine heat exposure in daily life.

Consumer groups pressed for change

The Utility Reform Network asked regulators in 2024 to revisit the heat standard after California recorded its hottest July in official state weather records during sustained summer heat.

The group argued that one temperature line ignored local conditions, because 90 degrees can feel routine inland but unusual near the coast or mountains for many local residents.

Utilities received an assignment

The commission declined to treat the 2024 request as an emergency, but ordered large investor-owned utilities to develop broader standards with consumer groups through a formal working process.

The order required implementation by May 1, 2026. Utilities missed that date, moving regulators toward an interim protection before another extended summer heat stretch reached California electric service territories.

CalHeatScore entered the debate

The utilities proposed using CalHeatScore, a California tool that rates heat risk by ZIP code using local health data and past community impacts during prolonged local heat events.

The system also considers cooling centers and vulnerable age groups, giving regulators a way to compare heat conditions across communities beyond one temperature line for customer protection decisions.

Fun fact: California reached statehood without first becoming an organized territory, after federal military authority administered the area from 1848 to statehood.

The proposal kept a high bar

The utilities proposed pausing disconnections at CalHeatScore Level 3 and keeping 100 degrees as the backup when CalHeatScore data was unavailable for each covered electric utility service territory.

Some consumer advocates sought CalHeatScore Level 2 and a 90-degree backup, arguing that the utility plan preserved much of the older 100-degree approach during the first summer implementation period.

Little-known fact: Most U.S. energy shutoff restrictions apply during specific time periods or weather conditions, rather than banning disconnections year-round entirely.

Advocates asked regulators to intervene

By May 2026, the Utility Reform Network joined Utility Consumers’ Action Network, National Consumer Law Center, and Center for Accessible Technology in a joint request to state regulators.

Their filings challenged the 100-degree fallback and sought a wider safety net before utilities completed any region-specific system using CalHeatScore data for residential accounts during summer billing decisions.

Commission rejected the utility plan

The California Public Utilities Commission found the December 2025 plan did not provide enough health protection and would leave practice largely unchanged for residential customers behind on bills.

In its July 2026 action, the commission set 90 degrees as the interim trigger and ordered a stronger local standard within six months for major investor-owned electric utilities.

Local heat risk shaped the order

California climate data indicate 41 of the state’s 58 counties already define extreme heat below 100 degrees, showing why one temperature trigger missed local risk for many residents.

San Francisco treats heat above 85 degrees as extreme, while Del Norte County uses 76.8 degrees, reflecting coastal and far northern conditions that differ from typical inland patterns.

The rule responds to household risks

A shutoff on hot days can cut access to electricity for cooling, refrigeration, phone charging, and water pumps, especially for tenants, older residents, and children inside affected households.

In some rural homes, electric pumps support water access. In dense cities, residents may have few safe options when indoor temperatures climb overnight during long periods of heat.

Utilities prepared to comply

Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Southern California Edison Company, and San Diego Gas and Electric Company indicated readiness to follow requirements and adjust residential disconnection policies after approval.

The utilities had warned lower triggers might pause disconnections more often, increase unpaid balances, add costs, and provide no comparable health benefits for customers under residential billing programs.

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What happens next

Utilities must use the 90-degree interim standard while developing CalHeatScore Level 2 protections, with implementation required within six months of the commission order for covered residential electric accounts.

The coming standard would link disconnection limits to ZIP-code heat risk rather than relying only on one fixed temperature across California for covered residential electric utility service areas.

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What stands out more, the lower heat shutoff threshold or the challenge of protecting households during extreme heat? Share your thoughts.

This slideshow was made with AI assistance and human editing.

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