California consumers will save at least $3 billion on their energy bills over the next five years due to Trump’s December tax cuts, the Chamber of Commerce announced in releasing a new study on Thursday.
California is the big winner, but the energy saving are projected to spread across the U.S., as utilities use the corporate tax cuts they received as a rebate on customers’ electricity bills, according to the Chamber’s Global Energy Institute.
“Utilities that have seen relief from their tax bills are passing those savings onto their customers, which ultimately saves consumers money,” said Karen Harbert, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber’s Global Energy Institute. “This savings is resulting in increased economic productivity and more jobs around the country.”
[Related: Trump tax cut benefits all congressional districts, up to $44,697 per family]
The savings will spread from Maine, receiving $100 million in total savings through 2022, to California, receiving a whopping $3 billion, according to the study. However, a closer look at the findings shows Florida receiving $3.9 billion in total savings, although the Chamber sought to emphasize California’s big benefits from the Republican tax plan.
Those number reflect the total savings received from 2017 to 2022 in the states. The breakdown for just the residential customer savings is much lower than the total number, which includes commercial, industrial, and residential savings.
The study also points out that each state will also see “meaningful” rises in gross domestic product and job growth as a result of the customer savings on energy bills.
The Chamber’s energy institute teamed up with FTI Consulting to compile the report that looked at 12 states where the investor-owned utilities were instituting rebate programs based on the Trump tax cuts.
The 12 states are: Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, Texas, and Virginia.
Although the analysis aims to show the customer benefits of the tax cuts, other reports from financial institutions have suggested possible negative effects for the utility companies themselves.
“With federal tax reform and the reduction of the corporate tax rate to 21% from 35%, utilities will collect less revenue from customers and thus retain less cash,” credit ratings giant Moody’s said in a report last month. This led the financial firm to change its outlook for the regulated utilities sector from “stable” to “negative,” reflecting increased financial risk due to lower cash flow.
“This marks the first time the regulated utilities sector has carried a negative outlook since Moody’s began conducting sector outlooks,” Moody’s said.
[Also read: 6 months of the Trump tax cuts, in numbers]
