2. History of CARE and LIEE Programs

Rate assistance under CARE is provided consistent with Pub. Util. Code §§ 739.1 and 739.2. Under this program, eligible low-income households and group living facilities currently receive up to a 15% rate discount for their electric and gas consumption. In addition, these customers are exempt from the rate surcharges adopted in D. 01-01-018 and D.01-03-082. Funding for CARE discounts and program administration is currently $135 million per year for PG&E, SDG&E, SCE and SoCal, combined.

Direct assistance to low-income customers in the form of energy efficiency education and measures became a statutory requirement in 1990 with the passage of Senate Bill (SB) 845.⁵ SB 845 added § 2790 to the Pub. Util. Code, which was amended by Assembly Bill (AB) 1393 effective January 1, 2000. This statute directs the Commission to require gas and electric corporations to perform home weatherization services for low-income households, and defines those services to include the following "Big Six" measures: (1) attic insulation; (2) caulking; (3) weatherstripping; (4) low flow showerheads; (5) water heater blankets and (6) door and building envelope repairs which reduce infiltration.

Pub. Util. Code §2790 directs the utilities to provide as many of these Big Six measures "as feasible for each eligible low-income dwelling unit." Weatherization services may also include other building conservation measures, energy efficiency appliances and energy education programs "determined by the commission to be feasible, taking into consideration for all measures both the cost effectiveness of the measures as a whole and the policy of reducing energy-related hardships facing low-income customers."

For example, relamping (i.e., replacing incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent lamps, or "CFLs") has become a standard service beyond the Big Six for SCE and PG&E. In addition, all of the utilities provide in-home energy education as part of their direct assistance programs. More recently, the Commission directed the utilities to include measures in their standard weatherization services that they have not included in the past, at least on a trial basis.⁶ These include energy efficient refrigerators, gas furnace repair and replacement, water heater pipe wrap, faucet aerators, evaporative coolers, evaporative cooler covers, outlet gaskets, porch light fixtures, and attic ventilation as a stand-alone measure.

The weatherization services described above are provided at no cost to eligible low-income households under the LIEE program. The current annual budget for LIEE is approximately $60 million per year for SDG&E, SCE, SoCal and PG&E, combined.