1 / 7

Electricity’s High Costs And High Prices

This presentation by John A. Bohn from the California Public Utilities Commission highlights the high rates and prices faced by California's IOU (Investor-Owned Utility) customers. It discusses the reasons for these high rates, including resource costs and various mandates. The presentation emphasizes the need to consider the costs and unintended consequences of new mandates.

milliej
Download Presentation

Electricity’s High Costs And High Prices

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Electricity’s High CostsAnd High Prices John A Bohn California Public Utilities Commission For Presentation to the NCPA January 24, 2007

  2. California’s IOU Customers FaceHigh Rates For Electric Service • Prior to the crisis, residential rates were “only” about 60% higher than the national average. • Now, California’s electric rates for residential service are large multiples of the national average.

  3. Example: PG&E’s Residential Rates The so-called “Good Old Days” Two-tier tariff prior to the crisis Cents / kWh 13.3 1.6 X 11.6 8.24 National average rate in 2000 100 130 200 300 Percent of Baseline Quantity (kWh)

  4. Example: PG&E’s Residential Rates 36.4 Today’s steep tiered tariff 31.7 Cents / kWh 22.7 3.8 X 3.3 X 2.4 X 12.9 11.4 9.45 National average rate in 2005 100 130 200 300 Percent of Baseline Quantity (kWh)

  5. Why Such High Rates? • High Resource Costs • Very little Coal (dirty and inexpensive) • Much Natural Gas and Renewable Sources (cleaner and more costly) • Very Costly Clean-Up from the Crisis • Fixed Baseline Rates force up other residential rates • Mandates, mandates, mandates. All for the good, but at what cost?

  6. Mandates • Subsidies to Low-Income Customers • Subsidies to Low-Use Customers • Renewable Portfolio Standard – toughest in the nation • California Solar Initiative • Efficiency RDD&D • Greenhouse Gas – Procurement Rules

  7. One Man’s Conclusions • California electric service customers are paying very high prices • Every new mandate costs money • Cause and effect not always clear • Unintended consequences • We should be aware of costs in decisions “Please don’t improve my life any more; I can’t afford it.”

More Related