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    Setting Brushfires of Freedom by Don Jans

    If you live in California, your power bill will soon depend on your income

    Story by Shannon Osaka

    Most of the time, what you pay for electricity or water or gas depends on how much you use. Leave the air conditioner and the lights on all night, and your electricity bill will spike. Take long, relaxing bubble baths every day, and your water bill will climb.

    But California is about to challenge that basic logic, in an attempt to curb rising rates and help electrify the state’s approximately 14 million homes. A new state law will require its three investor-owned utilities to charge customers fees for electricity based not only on how much electricity they use, but also on how much money they make.

    Depending on the proposal the state ultimately adopts, Californians making more than $180,000 a year could end up paying an average of $500 more on their annual electricity bills, while the lowest-income residents would save around $300 per year.

    The proposed changes are sparking backlash.

    Supporters argue that the plan will help the state electrify by lowering costs for residents that might not otherwise afford it. Critics, including many California residents, say that it will eat into progress on energy efficiency and that it is unfair to those who are conserving energy.

    Ronald Dawson, a retired data manager who lives in Eureka, Calif., said he and his wife have always been careful to save energy: only running the washer during off-peak hours and living without air conditioning. The new fixed charge alone, he said, would be more than his typical monthly electricity bill. “It’s a bait-and-switch,” he said.

    The debate beginning in California touches on the question that all states will have to face sooner or later: Who should pay for the damage climate change is doing to the electricity grid?

    For the past decade or so, California has been stuck in a vicious cycle when it comes to climate change. The Golden State embraced wind and solar far earlier than many other states, with enthusiastic homeowners slapping solar panels on around 1.3 million homes; the state now generates around a quarter of its electricity from renewables.

    But even as California has hustled to move away from fossil fuels, the effects of a warming planet are transforming the sunny state — and threatening how nearly 40 million people get their power. California is becoming hotter and drier, raising the risk of wildfires sparked by aging, failing power lines. The state’s three largest investor-owned utilities — Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison, and San Diego Gas & Electric — need to upgrade their infrastructure to shore it up against rising temperatures and fire risk.

    Read the full story at https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/if-you-live-in-california-your-power-bill-will-soon-depend-on-your-income/ar-AA1bYOrd


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    12 COMMENTS

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    Dem Slayer
    Dem Slayer
    6 months ago

    “Economics For Dummies” Illustrated.

    Arthur Bier
    Arthur Bier
    6 months ago

    Home insurance rates are going 30% up too. Write your senators now.

    My letter is below:

    Bob
    Bob
    6 months ago
    Reply to  Arthur Bier

    What do you expect the senators to do? They can’t do anything until GOPukes smarten up and stop burning fossil fuels.

    It doesn’t take a genius.

    Donald The MAN
    Donald The MAN
    9 months ago

    What a bunch of whiners here.

    The sky is falling! The sky is falling!

    Get a job and stop whining.

    Tina Kinne
    Tina Kinne
    9 months ago

    This right in line with ‘Redistribution of wealth” a Marxists agenda. Ensure the private owners get paid while implementing a socialist program to make working citizens pay for non-working citizens, IT’S A GOV. MARXIST AGENDA. It is UNJUST as is every one of the MARXIST programs of this administration. They are allowing 7 million nonworkers into the country and now they want you to pay for their electricity and their housing and their food and their medical. THIS IS MORE OF A MOVE TO A SOCIALIST AGENDA, IF YOU STUDY HISTORY IT IS IN THE DIRECTION OF COMMUNISM, AND ULTIMATELY FASCISM.

    Caitlin, Sue and @realjesse, Enrique
    Caitlin, Sue and @realjesse, Enrique
    9 months ago

    Another dumb idea foisted on ignorant voters who cast in with dummy politicians.

    Tom
    Tom
    9 months ago

    Living in California is more like ‘Death By a Thousand Cuts.’

    ANTHONY VAN LEEUWEN
    ANTHONY VAN LEEUWEN
    9 months ago

    This is a bad idea. By decreasing the cost for those who earn less will only result in increased usage. California only produces about 70% of all its electricity. Californians pay the highest rates in the nation for electricity. When I lived in California my monthly bill for a 1400 sq ft house was about $172 per month. In Idaho, for a 2800 sq ft house only paying about $65 per month. Natural gas costs for three months of winter will go up to $135 per month and much lower during the summer.

    Ray Blattel
    Ray Blattel
    9 months ago

    This is or should be illegal. This is another ‘income tax’ with another name. If there is ever a fixed charge, it should be the same for everyone, regardless of income level.

    Wolf
    Wolf
    9 months ago
    Reply to  Ray Blattel

    It’s illegal? Great, we can sue in the courts to stop it.

    Which specific law is being broken, Ray? Help us out instead of just whining about being a pathetic, weak victim again.

    Jose H Moreno
    Jose H Moreno
    9 months ago

    It’s the BS from the crooked democrats, we must vote them out!!!!

    Sheryl Hamlin
    9 months ago

    Sharing the family’s AGI is a step toward collectivism. Electricity now a tax? Slippery slope.

    https://www.hjta.org/california-commentary/big-problems-for-californias-income-based-utility-rates/

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