California’s High Electricity Rates Impede Transition Off Fossil Fuels – May 2021
Meredith Fowlie, Faculty Director at the Energy Institute at Haas, discusses how the rise in electricity rates have acted as a barrier for the transition off of fossil fuels reports Cal Matters. As California fights against climate change, having clean electricity is becoming more important. In addition, lower income homes in California have had to bear the brunt of expensive electricity costs.
“In research undertaken by the Energy Institute at the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business, on behalf of Next 10, we found that California households are paying retail electricity prices that are two-to-three times the cost to produce additional electricity. This is not only disproportionately impacting low- and middle-income earners – it’s also impeding the state’s ability to hit upcoming climate targets.”