The Pleasanton City Council voted 4-1 Tuesday to discontinue the city’s two current utility discount programs and adopt a new, single-tiered structure where the city will now offer a 30% discount to residents who qualify for low-income under the PG&E CARE program.
With the new discount program, which takes effect March 1, 2026, residents will need to meet qualifying criteria such as not using more than 24 ccf of water — a reduction from 30 ccf (centum cubic feet) — and proof of residency in Pleasanton.
Low-income facilities and senior facilities, as well as residents in facilities with a shared master meter, will all continue to receive the discounts as they meet the required qualifications.
“This approach supports the City Council’s priority of responsible financial planning and equitable use of public funds by ensuring that limited utility discount funds are distributed fairly and sustainably,” public works director Siew-Chin Yeong said during the Oct. 21 meeting.
Councilmember Julie Testa was the lone dissenting vote. She called out that the now-approved program does not consider higher cost of living in Pleasanton and that homebound seniors who make just over the qualifying income will be negatively impacted by the discontinuance of the senior discount program.
“I’m just very disappointed,” Testa said. “For a community of character, I think that we should be able to support that vulnerable population … and this recommendation doesn’t address that population.”
For many years the city has offered a 20% discount for single-family residents age 65 years or older, regardless of income level, and a separate 30% discount for residents who qualify as a low-income family.
The senior discount program currently has approximately 3,200 enrolled customers while the low-income program has about 225 enrolled customers.
To qualify for the low-income program, the registered account holder must participate in the PG&E CARE (California Alternate Rates for Energy) Program, which “caps household income eligibility at $53,000 or less for a family of three.”
During the last budget development cycle — along with the utility rate-setting process — staff analyzed the feasibility of continuing both programs as the two combined cost the city roughly half a million dollars last fiscal year. After receiving input from the council, staff returned Tuesday with final recommendations.
According to Yeong, using the PG&E program as a foundation for the new single-tiered city program helps because it already uses a well established, state-approved income verification process which helps minimize the administrative workload for city staff and eliminates the need for staff to manage its own income verification system.
“By aligning Pleasanton’s utility discount with the PG&E CARE program, the city can ensure that the discount reaches residents who are both income qualified and verifiable in financial need,” Yeong said.
Other updates to the program include applying the discount to Pleasanton’s and Zone 7 Water Agency’s fixed and variable charges for water and Pleasanton’s fixed charges for sewer and capping the maximum total discount program budget, which is funded by the city’s General Fund, to $425,000.
Staff will return for a six-month check in — or when 50% of that cap is met — to review and discuss the new discount program.
During the discussion, Testa read letters from people including Carrie Oldes, the Meals on Wheels program manager for Spectrum Community Services, who said homebound seniors are struggling enough as it is and suggested that the new discount program structure might make things even worse for this population.
Testa noted that she didn’t have any alternative proposals Tuesday to address her continued concern because she felt after the Sept. 16 meeting — where she and Mayor Jack Balch had a heated back and forth on the topic — there wasn’t consensus on having an income-qualified, senior-focused program.
“I tried very hard to put that together in our last discussion and I did not feel that it was being received or understood,” Testa said.
Vice Mayor Jeff Nibert also voiced concerns about leaving out certain groups of seniors under the new discount program but he ultimately supported the new structure. Councilmember Matt Gaidos noted that he had spoken with some seniors who understood that the new program structure is designed to help those who most need it.
“Collectively, though, it is a half million dollars that we are allocating to this program,” Balch said. “The same dollars that could keep the senior center open, that could expand (recreation) programs, bolster the library programs … so I think seniors understand that it is all part of the plan.”
In addition to rolling out a communication plan to inform residents about the new changes over the coming months, the council also voted to support Balch’s friendly amendment to have staff look into opening up enrollment windows either quarterly or annually.
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