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Comment by outside1234 | Hacker News Reader

The more impressive thing in my mind is that California has also reduced the use of natural gas by 37% since 2023 through the combination of solar + batteries.

* https://www.threads.com/@1mzjacobson/post/DPjmVLcDqFo/impres...

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California also has the most expensive rates in the country. Much less impressive when taking cost into account.

https://www.newsweek.com/electricity-prices-surge-us-map-sho...

https://www.energybot.com/electricity-rates/

That's because of the wildfires. California will have high rates no matter what just because of that.

Can you elaborate on why that is or provide a source? Other states also have high wildfire risk and don’t have the expensive power like California.

https://www.energysage.com/news/ca-electricity-rates-increas...

Interesting. That article didn’t explain the relationship between wildfires and power costs, so I did some digging. California is unique in that it uses a legal doctrine called “inverse condemnation.” This means utilities are strictly liable for wildfire damage caused by their equipment - even if they weren’t negligent.

This leads to tens of billions of dollars in extra costs for the utility companies in the state. California essentially passes on the cost of the wildfires to consumers in their electricity prices. This is unique to the California and not a factor in other states.

Four of the worst five wildfires in the US (in terms of damage) took place in the last decade in California. The fire in LA this year is estimated to have cost more than the other four combined.

That is only one factor. Others include: overallocation of fixed costs to consumers, CA's climate and energy policies, CA's high regulatory burden, and CA's unique geographic challenges. Some of these are self imposed.

[1] https://calmatters.org/california-divide/2021/03/california-...

[2] https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4950

[3] https://www.ppic.org/blog/a-closer-look-at-californias-surgi...

[4] https://www.ivy-energy.com/post/californias-ever-increasing-...

That is because of transmission costs and upgrades required because of climate change, not generation costs.

Now look at what you’d pay under a municipal provider like LADWP.

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