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I think part of the reason is that electricity is very expensive here. Apparently it’s the 3rd most expensive state in the country, with a cost over 75% more than the average nationwide cost. [1]

The electricity we receive is sourced from renewables, and I’m sure that’s part of the reason the price is so much higher than elsewhere.

1: https://www.chooseenergy.com/electricity-rates-by-state/

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The reason is not due to renewables, actually. In PG&E territory (which I am most familiar with) more than 2/3rds of your bill typically goes to transmission and distribution costs and 1/3 towards generation. Check out your next bill if you are curious. It’s not a huge surprise that T&D costs so much since that infrastructure keeps burning down the state and there is a lot of deferred maintenance.

It does make for a nice argument to try to decentralize more of the generation closer to where the consumption is happening (eg solar + batteries) to try to reduce our need to invest in T&D.

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