Twice a year, millions of California residents receive a credit on their utility bill identified as the “California Climate Credit.” The credit stems from a California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) program that requires power plants, natural gas distributors and other large industries that emit greenhouse gases to buy carbon pollution permits.

All residential and eligible small business electricity customers of Pioneer Community Energy, PG&E, and Liberty Utilities will receive the credit. The credit represents residential utility ratepayers’ share of the payments from the State’s program. Typically, the credit is applied in April and October, depending upon a customer’s billing cycle. If the credit is not on the October statement, customers should look for it on the November statement. Starting in 2019, the credit will be applied only in the spring.

Customers do not need to do anything to receive the credit – it is automatically applied to the bill.  The credit amounts vary among utilities:

• For Pioneer and PG&E customers the credit will be $39.42
• For Liberty Utilities customers (Tahoe area), the credit will be $29.46

The California Climate Credit is part of California’s efforts to fight climate change. For more information about the Climate Credit program, visit http://www.cpuc.org/ClimateCredit/. To inquire about billing, customers should contact their electric generation.