Topline:
This month, Southern California households and small businesses will see a “climate credit” on their utility bills.
The details: Southern California Edison customers will get an $86 credit, San Diego Gas & Electric customers will get a $78.22 credit, and Bear Valley Electric Service customers will get a $32.34 credit. Customers receive the credits twice a year, in April and October.
What is the "climate credit”? It’s one way the state uses money from its cap-and-trade program, which requires polluting industries such as oil refineries to pay for the pollution they emit. Everyone, regardless of income, receives the same credit. You can learn more about it here.
Does it help? A 2016 study from UCLA found the "climate credit" was effective in offsetting utility bill burdens for low-income households at that time. But Colleen Callahan, an author of that report, said it may be time to rethink the universal credit approach, given rising costs.
What’s next: The "climate credit" program started in 2015 and will run through at least 2030.
Go deeper: Learn more about the credit and what it means here.
