California lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are bringing attention to legislative policies that they say are causing energy prices to escalate and squeezing consumers across the state.

Between 2020 and 2023, rates climbed between 40 percent and 60 percent for many Golden State residents—compared with about a 24 percent bump across other major cities nationwide, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Prices for electricity have increased more than 128 percent over the past decade for Pacific Gas and Electric’s 16 million customers in California.

Democratic Sen. Stephen Bradford, chair of the Senate’s Energy, Utilities, and Communications Committee, said during an Aug. 6 hearing that the state’s desire to lower climate emissions is increasing electricity demand and causing prices to spike.

“I think that’s where we lose the public. ... Consumers are feeling this,” he said. “I want to make this work for all Californians and the environment, as a whole.”

Efforts to electrify vehicles and buildings will require more power, and the growing use of artificial intelligence is also contributing to the dilemma—as complex computing systems require significant power sources, according to the senator.

He said the combination is causing electricity prices to climb and suggested legislators are not seeing the bigger picture.

“We’re flying an airplane while redesigning it, adding passengers, and changing the fuel mix mid-air as weather forecasts constantly shift, requiring adjustment to the flight paths,” Bradford said.

The senator said regulators need to communicate with lawmakers about the issues that are affecting pricing.

“We need to hear from the agencies, and we need to hear more pushback if we’re moving in a direction that makes it harder for you to do your job,” Bradford said, “You’ve been doing it with your arms tied behind your back, and much of the reason why is because of the aspirational policies that we have passed in the Legislature, and I’m just going to be real about that.”

Having served 14 years in the Legislature, including roles as chair of energy committees in the Senate and the Assembly, he questioned past actions that are now impacting Californians.

“I have no doubt that much of what we passed has good intentions, but as old folks used to tell me, ‘The road to hell is paved with good intentions,’” Bradford said. “And we find ourselves here today, with these challenges, because our legislation has been more aspirational than practical.”

He said lawmakers need to rethink their policy decisions.

“We need to be more practical in what we’re trying to do—legislation we can implement that really achieves the goals of a cleaner environment, but more importantly, reliability,” Bradford said. “My desire ... is that we have policy more rooted ... in reality and implementation.”

He added that discussions about zero-emissions power should focus on the “cleanest sources,” including nuclear and hydroelectric instead of batteries, wind, and solar.

“So at some point, we need to start having real adult conversations about what our goals and objectives are,” Bradford said.

A Republican energy committee member agreed, saying consumers are feeling the pinch of higher rates and that the state will ultimately pay the price.

“Anything [the public] thinks might raise their rates, right now they’re hypersensitive to it,” Sen. Kelly Seyarto said during the hearing. “The problem with that is as consumers become more and more unable to keep up with the costs, they start leaving our state, and we’re heading into some economic issues now that are starting to reflect that.”

The lawmakers’ comments echoed statements made during a March hearing of the Assembly’s Utility and Energy Committee.

“As anyone ... who’s opened their utility bill recently can testify, rates are skyrocketing in California,” Democratic Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris, chair of the energy committee, said in opening remarks during the meeting. “The harsh reality is that millions of Californians are at the breaking point.”

Families and businesses are suffering from the record high increase in utility prices, she said.

“Some businesses are struggling to keep their doors open, and quite literally, to keep their lights on,” Petrie-Norris said.

‘Funded Through Electricity Bills’

“This all comes at a cost,” Alice Reynolds, president of the California Public Utilities Commission, said during the hearing. “Any investment in clean energy technology ... is funded through electricity bills.”

Republican Assemblyman Jim Patterson, vice chair of the committee, said the state’s clean energy goals are hurting Californians.

“We’re trying to decarbonize the fifth-largest economy [on] the planet, and while we’re doing that, we’re putting millions of Californians into poverty,” Mr. Patterson said. “I’m just not hearing solutions here that make a lot of sense.”

He said the state’s policies are too costly and need to be rethought.

“All of the goals that the state has set up are going to be very expensive, and somebody’s going to have to pay,” Mr. Patterson said. “The aspiration is misguided, and until we readjust the aspiration, we’re not going to be able to readjust the price tag and the burden that we’re asking our ratepayers to pay.”

The assembly member said energy prices now amount to “rate gouging.”

“In the 11 or 12 years I’ve been here ... I’ve seen the grid become less and less reliable and more and more expensive,” Mr. Patterson said. “Bills are really, in my judgment, excessive.”

Fellow committee member Democratic Assemblywoman Eloise Gomez Reyes agreed that rates are too high.

“It’s untenable now, and it’s unsustainable to expect the users to continue to pay increased rates,” Ms. Reyes said during the hearing.

The sentiment was shared by other Democratic colleagues and committee members.

“This is a real cost of living problem for real Californians,” Assemblywoman Tasha Boerner said. “And not just low-income Californians. We’re talking about the middle class.”