![]() He continued: “Everybody can’t put in solar if we’re paying for all of these other costs through per-kilowatt-hour charges. “It’s not that this proposal is unfair,” Borenstein said. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. For more information see our Privacy Policy. ![]() Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. One commenter said they “vehemently oppose” the law.Īnother wrote that they were scheduled to have solar panels installed on their home, but would cancel the installation due to the proposal.īut Borenstein said that people who power their homes with solar panels are only able to save money because of “massive subsidies” that drive up electricity prices for people on the grid. The income-based model will allow utility companies to lower the price they charge for using electricity because they will collect more money from fixed charges.īut the proposal has already come under fire, particularly from higher-income residents who would face heftier electricity bills under the new models. Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric, the state’s three largest utilities, said in a joint filing that the income-based charge was “urgently needed to support achievement of the state’s decarbonization goals”.īorenstein similarly said that high costs for using electricity can discourage people from electrifying their homes. They make up for these expenditures by raising the price for electricity use. California’s electricity prices range from one and a half times to double the national average.Īccording to Severin Borenstein, one of the report’s co-authors and a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, electricity prices in the state are so high because utility companies are also paying for damages from wildfires and buying back electricity from people who’ve installed rooftop solar panels, among other costs. “Why should I pay for someone else’s bill when I paid thousands for solar?” one commenter wrote.Ĭalifornia currently has some of the highest electricity costs of any state, according to a report that suggested the income-based model. The proposals have so far received more than 250 public comments, with a large number opposing the law. The law is part of the state’s answer of how to equitably transition away from carbon as an energy source.īut state officials are already facing backlash from higher-income residents who don’t want to see their bills increase. ![]() Based on proposals currently under consideration, residents who make more than $180,000 a year could pay about $500 more annually on their electricity bills, while Californians who make less than $28,000 annually could save up to $300 a year. The new income-based electricity bills could hit residents’ mailboxes as soon as 2025. ![]()
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