Dive Summary:

• Residential customers of California's three largest utilities will see a "climate dividend" on their utility bills in 2013 as part of a proposal adopted by the California Public Utilities Commission.
• The automatic refund will be between $20 and $40 every six months and will start appearing on customers' bill in July.
• The total amount of money that will be returned to ratepayers between 2013 and 2020 is expected to range from $5.7 billion to $22.6 billion.

From the article:

Utilities like PG&E were given free carbon permits for the first year but had to agree to sell those permits in the auction. State legislators vowed that some proceeds from the sale of those permits and from future sales had to flow back to ratepayers in some form.

"This sets an important precedent," Commission President Michael Peevey said before the unanimous vote. "It's the first time in the history of cap-and-trade where the value of allowances are flowing back to households." ...