The Clean Energy program focuses on the link between California’s environment and economy and aims to help identify challenges, opportunities, and trends as the state looks to grow its economy while achieving ambitious environmental goals. The flagship publication within this program area is the annual California Green Innovation Index, the latest of which is the 11th edition, published in 2019. It tracks a variety of environmental and economic indicators over time, comparing California’s performance to states across the U.S. and to some of the world’s largest economies. Other recent work in the Clean Energy program has focused on the future of California’s grid, challenges to meeting our zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) goals, and environmental and economic impacts of some of the state’s leading climate policies, such as cap and trade, in disadvantaged communities.
Paying for Electricity in California: How Residential Rate Design Impacts Equity and Electrification
Half to two-thirds of the electricity rates paid by California residents are, in effect, a “tax” on electricity that disproportionately burdens lower-income households and discourages adoption of electric vehicles, heat pumps, and other clean technologies. This is a finding of Paying for Electricity in California: How Residential Rate Design Impacts Equity and Electrification, a new report from Next 10 and the Energy Institute at the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business. It is a follow up of the 2021 report Designing Electricity Rates for An Equitable Energy Transition.