CALSLA is the primary entity to represent street light and traffic control issues before the CPUC. CALSLA uses membership dues to pay for an attorney and energy consultant to challenge rate increases and to negotiate lower street light and traffic control rates.  We need active membership participation to maintain our bargaining position with the electric utilities.  Without intervention by CALSLA, utility rate increases would go unchallenged at the CPUC.

All cities and counties in California that take street light service from the three major investor-owned electric utilities regulated by the CPUC are members of CALSLA. CALSLA represents each city or county when CALSLA intervenes and participates in rate cases on behalf of the cities and counties.

If you need additional information about CALSLA you may go to our website www.CALSLA.org after April 1, 2014, email me at jeanbonander@gmail.com or jean@calsla.org or call me at 415-508-7527.


For specific questions about rate analysis, you may contact CALSLA energy consultant Alison Lechowicz at Bartle Wells at 510-653-3399 x115, or at her email address: alechowicz@bartlewells.com.


For specific questions about CALSLA legal issues, you may contact CALSLA attorney, David J. Byers, Esq. at 650-759-3375 or at his email address: dbyers@landuselaw.net.

We are currently planning spring conferences for 2014. These conferences provide an opportunity for your technical, maintenance and policy staff members to increase their knowledge about street lighting. Past conferences have covered a variety of topics including street light rate design, legal challenges in the purchase of street lights from utilities, LED and induction conversion projects, adaptive street lights, street light mapping and inventory projects, and funding programs of state agencies. You will receive an announcement once the conference site is secured and the agenda is set. Please contact me if you would like to make a presentation or if there is a particular topic you would like to see addressed at the next conference.

Yes. The CPUC treats street lighting as a separate customer class. CALSLA is the primary organization that speaks for street light customers—cities and counties in California. In the past 30 years CALSLA has intervened and actively worked on every major rate case concerning the three utilities. CALSLA has saved California cities and counties more than $100 million in lower electric rates for street lighting.

CALSLA dues are based on population and range from a few hundred to a less than five thousand dollars per year.

CALSLA was organized in 1981 for the dual purpose of representing local governments before the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to achieve equitable street light rates and acting as a clearinghouse for information on other street light matters. Currently we address traffic signal rates in addition to the street light rates.

Every three years, the major investor-owned electric utilities (IOUs) in California —Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), Southern California Edison (SCE), and San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) – file general rate cases before the CPUC. In the rate cases, the utilities make a revenue request to operate their business and a method to assign revenues to the customer classes (including the street light class) and design rates. For the rate case proceedings, CALSLA appears before the CPUC, requests party status, and submits testimony advocating for fair and equitable street light rates. Most often as the final step in the rate cases, we engage in settlement and directly negotiate with the utilities for lower rates.