Timing is everything, from locking in favorable interest rate for a loan or finding the right time to make an investment. Smart timing expands opportunities. The same principle applies to managing energy costs.

Business owners in Los Angeles County today are struggling with paying their high electricity bills. Nearly 25 years ago, California faced a different electricity affordability crisis than we do today. State leaders responded with a big idea: give people the tools to take control of their energy use and their utility bills.

If customers could shift when they used electricity, avoiding the most expensive, high-demand hours, they could help prevent grid emergencies and bring down costs for everyone. Business owners could optimize their operations to take advantage of the best available rates in a process called “dynamic pricing.”

To make this possible, California launched one of the most ambitious upgrades to the electric grid in the country. Starting in 2006, Southern California Edison (SCE), PG&E, and San Diego Gas & Electric were authorized by the state to spend $4.5 billion to roll out smart meters across their service areas and build a smart grid management system.

California was ahead of its time. It was supposed to lead the nation in smart energy use. But that future never arrived and dynamic pricing stalled. Progress was limited to “time-of-use rates.” These rates are an improvement but still fall far short of dynamic pricing. They give only a general snapshot, not the more detailed and timely information that businesses could take advantage of to control costs.

Despite smart meters having the capability, consumers and businesses today generally have no idea when wholesale electricity prices are rising or falling except through a last-minute emergency text alert. Those price falls are often quite dramatic. Most people also don’t know that for about half the year now in many parts of the state, wholesale prices actually go negative during the day.

Finding cheaper power

This means there are times when people and businesses could be paid to use electricity, but no one knows about it. Nowhere is that truer than here in Southern California, where hourly wholesale energy prices for the lowest-priced hours averaged 80-90% less than the highest-priced hours over the past year. Businesses using dynamic pricing could see significant savings. Countries like the Netherlands already have ad hoc networks of people finding ways to make money charging their electric vehicles by taking advantage of dynamic pricing.

Those low-cost periods are also when renewable energy is most abundant on the grid. Using more electricity during these times isn’t just cheaper – it’s also cleaner. But without dynamic pricing, utility customers are left in the dark about how their energy use affects their wallet and the environment.

Now the momentum is gathering to finally take this clear and overdue step and authorize dynamic pricing. My bill, AB 1117, would finally open up dynamic pricing as an option – giving businesses a potent tool to manage their electricity costs.

Customers across L.A. County can benefit. While SCE customers would see the largest benefits, municipal governments taking service from SCE could also take advantage.

AB 1117 sets clear deadlines and strong consumer protections, ensuring customers can finally choose dynamic rate plans that reflect the real cost of energy. It’s a win for affordability and for the environment. It’s also one of the only “low-hanging fruit” opportunities left to cut electricity costs for L.A. businesses today, without imposing new costs somewhere else.

The state Public Utility Commission is also seizing on the issue, issuing a proposed decision requiring the state’s investor-owned utilities to propose dynamic rates for all customers.

Californians already paid for a smarter grid. With dynamic pricing, we can finally start using it.

Nick Schultz represents the 44th Assembly District, which includes Burbank, Glendale and the San Fernando Valley communities of La Crescenta-Montrose, Lake View Terrace, North Hollywood, Shadow Hills, Sherman Oaks, Sunland-Tujunga, Studio City, Toluca Lake and Valley Village.