Rising electricity prices in Kamala Harris' home state are crushing residents

California's electricity prices are rising, burdening residents with bills that in some cases exceed the rent they pay for their homes or businesses, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

Prices have risen thanks, in large part, to the state's push to make infrastructure improvements such as burying power lines, as well as increased demand driven by electric vehicle (EV) the adoption and proliferation of power hunger data centers needed to sustain the growing artificial intelligence (AI) sector, seconds in the WSJ. These costs as well as new capital costs wind and solar farms that policymakers want to replace fossil fuel generation with a green grid are being passed on to California consumers, leaving ordinary people on the hook for huge electricity bills.

Californians owed a total of $2.1 billion in late utility bills by the end of 2023, a more than fourfold increase from 2019, according to the WSJ. About 27% of all California residents have missed utility bill payments at some point in the past 12 months, and more than 200,000 people in the state will have their electricity cut off by 2023 for nonpayment. bills, with around 20% of these people not. turn your power back on.

“During the summer [power] it's the only thing on my mind,” Scott Jones, a resident of Borrego Springs, Calif., told the WSJ. Like others in his mobile home community, Jones tries to save where he can on groceries, works multiple jobs and he even uses a variety of shades and dyes to try to keep the temperature lower in his home to avoid having to use the air conditioner.

“I'll be here in the dark,” Jones' wife, Leyla Nunez, told the WSJ. “I'm going to send my son to my mom's house or something to try to keep the costs down,” she continued, adding that the electric bill is “like another rent.”

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), which regulates the state's utilities, told the WSJ that it has developed a structure that aims to contain the costs of the state's transition to green energy generation as low as possible. California is aiming to have 100% of its energy supplied by carbon-free sources by 2045.

As of May 2024, residential electricity in California costs more than all other states except Hawaii, seconds at the US Energy Information Administration. California residential prices in May 2024 were nearly five cents per unit higher than in May 2023, representing a year-over-year increase of approximately 15%.

Jessica Simpson Nehrer, another Borrego Springs resident, told the WSJ that her June electric bill of $1,873 for 2024 was nearly double what she paid in 2022, and well above the $1,200 a month in rent he paid for his house. Rodger Gucwa, the owner of a grocery store in Borrego Springs, has tried to save money by setting the thermostat to 85 degrees, but doing so melts the chocolate bars he sells.

“You can rack your brains and, you know, try to solve the problem or whatever, and it's not going to be solved,” Gucwa told the WSJ. The typical electricity bill for Gucwa's store over the past year has been about $8,000, not far from the $9,500 rent he pays for his store.

The CPUC and the office of California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Latest messages from Nick Pope (see everything)

We have zero tolerance for comments that contain violence, racism, profanity, profanity, doxing, or rude behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it, click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for engaging with us in a fruitful conversation.