California Climate & Energy Collaborative

Consumer choice has suddenly revolutionized the electricity business in California. But utilities are striking back

Sarina Soor
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“Faced for the first time with real competition, the state’s big three utilities have suddenly become havens of innovation. They’re offering customers flexible options on the portion of their power coming from renewable energy, and they’re on pace to increase the share of power they get from solar and wind power to the point where…

Berkeley looks at EVs, markets, gas withholding

Sarina Soor
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““The electric vehicle market is transforming on a daily basis,” California Public Utilities Commissioner Carla Peterman said on Friday at the annual POWER Conference at University of California Berkeley. There are about 376,000 light duty EVs, 43 models and 22,000 public charging stations in the state, she said. “Our investor-owned utilities have a critical role…

Distributed solar and efficiency saves California $2.6 billion on power lines

Sarina Soor
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“California’s grid operator has chosen to cancel 20 transmission projects and revise 21 others, as energy efficiency and distributed generation prove their worth. The majority of the projects were located in the service area of utility Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), while two of the canceled projects were located in San Diego Gas & Electric…

How Smart Meters are Changing Energy Efficiency in California

Sarina Soor
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New advanced metering infrastructure that can measure customer load with increased granularity has created opportunities for variable rate structures, effective demand response and increased customer control over their energy use. And now, with the ability to compare real-time usage to historical baselines, the industry can begin to more accurately value “efficiency as energy,” and PG&E…