by Katy Grimes, E&E Legal Senior Media Fellow and California Globe Editor
As Appearing in the California Globe
Stuck-on-Stupid climate change nonsense is escalating cost of utility bills
California is falling apart. We are witnessing the demise of the Golden State in every patently absurd bill introduced in the Legislature, every new regulation imposed, every tax increase, every constitutional right eroded – and every climate change policy inflicted, despite having no impact on temperatures or climate.
Confirmation of this demise is the state’s income-based utility pricing – the more you make, the more they take, regardless of your actual electricity usage. But worse than income-based utility rates is how the deck is already stacked: California Democrats are taking hydroelectric dams offline and have passed bills forcing the state to convert to an all-electricity grid.
In 2022, the California Legislature passed AB 205, which required the CPUC to move the state to an income-based system of paying utility bills, set by their income. This is supposed to cover the costs of building and maintaining electrical infrastructure, and to account for the energy they actually use.
Last month the Globe reported, “Ten Senators led by Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) released a letter calling on the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to reject a utility-backed proposal that would raise energy bills for millions of Californians by $360-824 per year.”
