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Cal. PUC § 796

This is the official text of Cal. PUC § 796, part of California’s Public Utilities Code — regulates utilities such as electricity, gas, water, and transportation carriers.

Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.

Official statutory text

(a) The commission shall disallow, for purposes of setting the rates to be charged by any electrical, gas, or heat corporation for the services or commodities furnished by it, all expenses for advertising which encourage increased consumption of such services or commodities.

(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the commission may allow, for purposes of setting rates, expenses for advertising which encourages the more efficient operation of the electric, gas, or heating plant, or for advertising which encourages the more efficient use of electricity, gas, or heat or the conservation of energy or natural resources, or presents accurate information on the economical purchase, maintenance, or effective use of electrical or gas appliances and devices.

Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site

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About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the Open US Law dataset (Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.