California
Protect Small Businesses From Higher Electric Bills
Restaurants, retailers, contractors, manufacturers, and family-owned companies — the backbone of California's economy.
Running a small business in California is getting harder.
Rent is up. Supplies are up. Insurance is up. Electric bills are up.
For many small businesses, margins are already painfully tight. Another increase in electricity costs can mean less money to hire, invest, expand, keep prices stable, or simply stay open.
Now California is preparing for major growth in AI data centers that use enormous amounts of electricity and can require major new grid infrastructure.
If those data centers come to California, small businesses should not get stuck with the bill.
Neighbors for Strong Communities is helping California small business owners speak directly to lawmakers and Governor Gavin Newsom in support of SB 886 — and urge them to protect the bill from being weakened.
Small Businesses Can't Absorb Another Cost Increase
Every additional expense matters when you run a small business.
Higher electricity bills can mean:
- Delaying a new hire
- Cutting employee hours
- Raising prices
- Putting off new equipment
- Delaying expansion
- Giving up already-thin margins
- Making it harder to compete and stay open
For a massive corporation, a higher utility bill may be another line item. For a small business, it can change real decisions about employees, customers, and the future.
California's small businesses have already absorbed enough.
AI Data Centers Should Pay Their Own Way
Large AI data centers can use enormous amounts of electricity and require significant new infrastructure to connect to California's power grid.
The question is simple:
Who should pay for those costs?
Small businesses and families that are already on the grid should not be asked to subsidize the infrastructure needs of some of the largest technology companies in the world.
SB 886 helps establish protections so qualifying large data centers are responsible for the costs associated with serving their electricity demand instead of shifting those costs onto everyone else.
If a data center creates the cost, the data center should pay for it.
Why SB 886 Matters
SB 886 is designed to help protect existing California ratepayers from costs associated with massive new data center electricity demand.
The bill would help:
- Prevent data center costs from being shifted onto existing customers
- Require qualifying large data centers to pay significant costs associated with serving their electricity demand
- Protect small businesses and families from subsidizing major new grid infrastructure
- Establish clearer rules for how large new electricity users pay for the costs they create
California can continue to lead in technology and innovation while protecting the businesses and families that are already here.
SB 886 Must Stay Strong
SB 886 is now moving through the final weeks of the legislative process.
There is pressure to weaken some of the bill's core ratepayer protections.
That matters.
The value of SB 886 depends on maintaining strong protections against cost shifting. If those protections are watered down, small businesses could still be left paying for grid costs they did not create.
Governor Gavin Newsom and California lawmakers need to hear directly from the small business community.
Our message is simple:
Protect SB 886. Don't water it down. Make sure AI data centers pay the costs they create.
You Don't Have to Be an Energy Expert to Speak Up
You do not need to understand utility regulation or data center policy to know what another increase in your electric bill would mean for your business.
Maybe your utility costs have already increased.
Maybe higher operating costs have forced you to raise prices.
Maybe you have delayed hiring, expansion, or equipment purchases.
Maybe margins are simply too tight to absorb anything else.
Those experiences matter.
We're asking California small business owners:
How are rising electricity and operating costs affecting your business — and what would another increase mean for you, your employees, or your customers?
Why Neighbors Is Getting Involved
Public debates about energy and technology are often dominated by utilities, major corporations, regulators, lobbyists, and professional advocates.
The small businesses that could ultimately pay higher bills deserve a voice that matters too.
Neighbors for Strong Communities exists to help residents and local organizations shape public decisions affecting their communities, livelihoods, and futures.
Right now, we're helping California small business owners tell Governor Newsom and lawmakers what rising electricity costs mean for their businesses — and why SB 886's protections matter.
As those stories come in, we may share selected voices with permission to help policymakers and the public understand what is at stake.
What We're Asking
Our message to Governor Gavin Newsom and California lawmakers is straightforward:
Protect SB 886. Do not weaken its core ratepayer protections. Make sure large AI data centers pay the costs they create instead of shifting them onto California small businesses and families.
California should be able to welcome innovation and investment without asking existing businesses to subsidize massive new electricity users.
How It Works
Participants answer a few short questions about their business and how rising electricity and operating costs affect them.
Technology helps turn what they share into a personalized message to Governor Newsom and California lawmakers, and gives participants the opportunity to speak publicly about why SB 886 matters to their business.
Every participant remains in control. They can review their message, edit it, and decide for themselves whether to send or share it.
We don't speak for communities. We help communities speak for themselves.
Make Your Voice Heard
If you own or operate a small business in California, we want to hear from you. Tell Governor Newsom and state lawmakers what another electricity increase would mean for your business.
Everyone deserves a voice that matters.