FORT BRAGG, CA., 7/9/26 — On Thursday, July 2, the California Public Utilities Commission, which oversees private utilities, held its meeting at Fort Bragg Town Hall to consider a broad range of reports, resolutions and orders affecting communities throughout the state. The meeting was webcast live and can be viewed at the CPUC’s online archive.
The commission rotates its voting meetings across the state to increase public access and participation. While many meetings are held in San Francisco or Sacramento, the CPUC periodically meets in other communities as part of its public outreach efforts.
Fort Bragg Mayor Jason Godeke welcomed CPUC President John Reynolds and the commissioners, thanking them specifically for their collaboration on the city’s municipal broadband project.
Godeke said the project is in its final stages of construction and customers are expected to begin signing up soon. He said the broadband network will provide residents with affordable, high speed internet service while supporting economic development by attracting new businesses and remote workers to the region.
Godeke also emphasized the unique challenges facing the North Coast, describing Fort Bragg as an isolated community where reliable communications and utility services are critical.
“So many of the things that you talk about have a lot of impact on us here on the North Coast,” Godeke said. “We’re an extraordinarily isolated community, and all those issues of connectivity and communication that are before you have enormous impacts on our public safety and affordability. Whether it’s the cost of energy, the cost of maintaining a phone or how well that phone works, these issues are critically important here in the city of Fort Bragg and even more so for communities up and down the coast.
Solar on multifamily affordable housing units
CPUC Commissioner Matthew Baker provided an update on the Solar on Multifamily Affordable Housing program, launched in 2019 to expand solar access for low-income multifamily housing properties. The program’s eligibility and incentives were expanded in 2023 under California Senate Bill 355.
Baker said the program encourages solar adoption at affordable apartment buildings and other qualifying multifamily properties. Once installed, solar systems provide residents with bill credits from a portion of the electricity generated. The program helps fund installations through upfront incentives, through a tariff and with California’s cap-and-trade revenues.
Baker said, “The SOMAH program is making significant progress toward its statutory goal of installing at least 300 megawatts of solar capacity by 2032 while reducing electricity costs for low-income tenants. After slowing during the COVID-19 pandemic, the program rebounded with higher CPUC-approved incentive levels and expanded eligibility under SB 355.” Baker noted that according to the CPUC’s 2023 triennial report, SOMAH regained momentum as the expanded incentives took effect, and the SB 355 provisions were implemented.
Baker reported that the program has installed more than 70 megawatts of solar capacity through more than 800 completed or active projects statewide.Baker added, “ In 2023, statewide applications increased significantly, with property owners submitting 127 new applications totaling 92 megawatts of proposed capacity.” The CPUC declined to expand the program to new construction and master-metered properties, with the focus remaining on maximizing benefits for existing eligible affordable housing properties.
CPUC’s Reynolds said he has seen “firsthand how meaningful these projects can be for residents.” In 2023, he visited a 49-kilowatt solar system project installed at a 24-unit affordable housing and sober living facility in Bishop In 2024, he attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony for a SOMAH project at St. Mary’s Center, an affordable housing community for seniors in Oakland.
Reynolds added, “What stood out to me at both events was the strong community engagement the SOMAH program fosters, and the real savings it delivers to residents through lower electricity bills. The program is designed to ensure those benefits go directly to affordable housing tenants.”
Some funding comes from cap-and-trade revenues
California’s cap-and-trade revenues come from the state’s program requiring major greenhouse gas emitters to purchase allowances for their emissions. A portion of these funds is invested in projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and benefit disadvantaged communities.
SOMAH provides financial support so affordable housing apartment building owners can install solar energy systems. After the solar system is installed, residents receive credits on their electricity bills for a share of the solar power the system generates. These bill credits are provided through the SOMAH tariff, which distributes the benefits of the solar energy among participating tenants and the building’s shared electric accounts. Together, the upfront incentives and ongoing bill credits make solar energy more affordable for both property owners and residents.
In Mendocino County, the program could create opportunities for affordable housing providers to explore solar projects that lower utility costs, increase energy resilience and support California’s climate goals.
In an email, Terrie Prosper, director of strategic communications for the California Public Utilities Commission’s External Affairs Division, said, “There was one 56 kW project in Mendocino serving 12 low-income tenants. It was installed by GRID Alternatives and received permission to operate in September 2024.There is also another SOMAH project in the works in Mendocino County, a planned 199kW capacity that will serve a multifamily property of 25 units.”
CPUC evaluates service quality rules for wireless carriers
The commission has opened a rulemaking proceeding to evaluate whether wireless carriers should be held to enforceable service quality standards — similar to those already applied to landline telephone companies. Virtual hearings are scheduled on July 15, at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. (virtual only) and on July 23, at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. (virtual only), to receive public comment on proposed wireless service quality rules. The hearings are part of an order to consider service quality standards for wireless carriers operating in California. The proceeding will examine issues including wireless network reliability, dropped calls, service interruptions, emergency communications, access to 911, and coverage gaps, particularly in rural and wildfire-prone communities.
The order could have significant impacts on Mendocino County. Stronger standards could improve connectivity for public safety, economic development, telehealth, education and everyday communication.
The CPUC is encouraging members of the public to share their experiences with wireless service, including problems with network coverage, reliability during public safety power shutoffs and wildfires, and the impact of service disruptions on public safety, health care, businesses, education and everyday communications.
The hearings provide an opportunity for residents, local governments, businesses and community organizations to comment on whether California should establish stronger service quality standards and accountability measures for wireless carriers.
Additional information, including hearing details and participation instructions, is available on the CPUC website.
Members of the public may submit written comments and read comments submitted by others at https://apps.cpuc.ca.gov/c/R2602017.
Comments submitted become part of the official record and will be considered by the commission as it evaluates proposed wireless service quality rules.