2022 California Arrearage Payment Program

​​
Illustration of lightbulb, paid utility bill, house with a family, and a natural gas stove burner.

​
​The 2022 California Arrearage Payment Program (CAPP) offered financial assistance for California residential energy utility customers to help reduce past due energy bill balances that increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Established by Governor Newsom and the California Legislature in the 2022 State Budget and administered by the Department of Community Services and Development (CSD), 2022 CAPP distributed $647 million to address Californian's energy debts. This program has sunset.
 
Energy utility customers did not need to apply to receive assistance under the 2022 CAPP program. Eligible residential customers who qualified for a 2022 CAPP benefit automatically received a credit on their energy utility bill.  Energy utilities applied for CAPP assistance on behalf of customers who had incurred a past due balance on their energy bill during the COVID-19 pandemic relief period covering March 4, 2020 through December 31, 2021.
​
2022 CAPP funding was allocated to participating state energy utilities on November 22, 2022. Energy utilities were required to apply ​2022 CAPP bill credits to their residential customer accounts within 60 days of receiving funds.  ​
​

​2022 CAP​P DATA DASHBOARD​

​The 2022 CAPP Data Dashboard contains arrearage and customer data captured from ​participating state ​energy utilities during the application phase of 2022 CAPP implementation:

​

​2022 PROGRAM DETAILS​

As specified under California Government Code Sections 16429.8 through 16429.10, energy utilities were to prioritize 2022 CAPP assistance to eligible customer accounts in the following order:

  1. Active residential customers with past due bills and who, absent the 2022 CAPP assistance or any other protection or assistance provided by the utility applicant, might be subject to service disconnection, consistent with current law, due to non-payment of balances incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic bill relief period.
  2. Active residential customers with past due bills incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic bill relief period.​

CSD implemented 2022 CAPP through the release of CAPP Program Notices. Subscribe to CSD's email updates to be notified if new CAPP Program Notices are released.​

CUSTOMER PROTECTIONS

Government Code Section 16429.10 required energy utilities that received a 2022 CAPP allocation to provide the following customer protections:

  • Between the time when an energy utility applicant submits its 2022 CAPP application, and the department completes the disbursement of CAPP allocations to all utility applicants, a utility applicant shall not discontinue service due to nonpayment by those residential customers with arrearages accrued during the COVID-19 pandemic bill relief period.​
  • No disconnections of a 2022 CAPP recipient's utility service were allowed, regardless of the balance owed after applying a CAPP benefit, for 90 days after a 2022 CAPP benefit is applied.
  • Customers who received a 2022 CAPP benefit and have a remaining balance after that benefit is applied must be notified of the option to enter into an extended payment plan with late fees and penalties waived.
  • Any associated late fees and accrued interest for customers who are awarded CAPP benefits shall be waived.​​

​PROGRAM NOTICES​



​

​​​RESOURCES

​EMAIL SUBSCRIPTION LIST

Subscribe to receive CAPP Program Notices and other program​ updates.​

​Sign up fo​r​ CAPP em​ail updates

​​

​2021 CAPP​

​The 2021 CAPP program committed $1 billion in financial assistance for California energy utility customers to help reduce past due energy bill balances accrued during the COVID-19 pandemic relief period covering March 4 , 2020 through June 15, 2021.
CSD Supporting Page