California’s Electricity Prices are so High that Researchers Worry People Won’t Ditch Fossil Fuel – February 2021
The San Francisco Chronicle reports on Faculty Directors of the Energy Institute, Severin Borenstein and Meredith Fowlie and Research Associate of the Energy Institute, James Sallee, discussing California’s growing electricity prices. While prices rise, many Californians may be discouraged in their decision to ditch fossil fuels.
“Otherwise, the state could end up in a situation where electric rates are ‘vastly higher than the true cost of using electricity,’ Borenstein said. ‘At the same time, we’re going to have rates that are going to be so high that it will be a huge discouragement to using electricity for things that we need people to adopt if we’re going to decarbonize the economy…Severin Borenstein, a UC Berkeley energy economist who spearheaded the paper, said he’s concerned that California is saddling its electric rates with too many things that are divorced from the direct cost of powering homes and businesses. Investments to reduce wildfire risk are one example, as are bill subsidies and funding for various other public programs.”
Read more on California’s Growing Electricity Prices on Green Tech Media, LAist, PBS SoCal, Sacramento Business Journal, Los Angeles Times, Cal Matters, Renewable Energy Magazine, the Utility Dive, PV Magazine, Tech Explore, The Daily Californian, The Wall Street Journal, Expert Energy, and Government Technology