Higher electricity prices, less reliability. Welcome to the Green New Deal.
The Sacramento Bee (9/12/24) reports: "Northern California customers of Pacific Gas & Electric Co. will see their utility bills rise again this year after regulators approved another new rate increase Thursday. It marks the fourth rate increase for PG&E customers this year. The California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) approved the hike with a 4-0 vote on its 'consent agenda,' a process that involved no discussion among the commissioners. The increase, which amounts to $6 per month on average for each electric customer, is intended to help PG&E recover approximately $944 million in costs associated with winter storms during the 2022-23 season and wildfire mitigation efforts. Considered a temporary rate hike, the increase will go into effect next month and sunset after 17 months. The approved rate increase comes as PG&E recovers from a challenging winter season, when it restored power to 7 million customers after 15 major storms damaged thousands of utility poles and hundreds of miles of wires. PG&E said to regulators that recovering those costs now will help lower expenses for customers in the long run by allocating them to those who were customers when the costs were incurred. Utility representatives said PG&E is attempting several strategies to limit future rate hikes."
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"Renewable power is not a replacement for baseload power as it is so commonly portrayed by advocates of renewables. One would hope that people will start to understand that renewables are a uniquely different category of generation. As such, one should approach integration of renewable power sources onto the power grid with prudence."
– Bill Ponton, Princeton Venture Advisory
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