As the country and the rest of the world experience another year of scorching heat waves, private for-profit utility companies—which we rely upon for our basic necessities, like heating, cooling, and electricity—are keeping us reliant on climate-wrecking fossil fuels while reporting record profits.
When they work well, utilities exist in the background of our lives: They power our homes, cool us down when it’s hot, and give us heat when it’s cold. But too often, they are sources of aggravation: The power goes off when it’s dangerously hot or cold out, our bills skyrocket, and these for-profit companies threaten to shut off services when we’re unable to pay.
We know that climate change raises those stakes even higher, and utility companies themselves play a massive role in exacerbating the climate crisis: 80 percent of electric utilities in the U.S. run on fossil fuels.
Shifting utilities to clean energy is integral to working toward a safer climate, but these private, for-profit companies would rather maintain the status quo and keep the public in the dark. Utility companies are charging us more while they get paid off by the fossil fuel industry to block the transition to renewable energy.
Utility companies have gotten away with profiting at the expense of people and our planet for too long. It’s time we hold them accountable and demand they stop using our money to burn our future while individuals and families struggle. We deserve an energy system that allows everyone to have access to clean and affordable energy.
Shawn Jones
Avila Beach
This article appears in Aug 22 – Sep 1, 2024.
Water, Food, clothing and shelter are basic necessities and I’ll add emergency medical treatment. The author has unilaterally determined now electricity is a basic necessity yet there is no health and safety code mandating monthly service like some jurisdictions mandate garbage service. If you don’t pay your electricity bill you are stealing and should have it turned off. There is zero entitlement for free electricity. Writing that utilities are paid by off by the fossil fuel industry is serious accusation where the author hasn’t provided evidence and the author could be sued for libel. Rates are controlled by the CPUC Commisioners which are appointed by the governor. The CPUC has structured utilities to receive capital rate of return as their main income stream. Utilities have to argue with regulators during hearings to receive money from the penalty tiers of your bill after their performance on SAIFI and SAiDI goals are reviewed. Hardening for wildfires and connecting transmission to solar, wind, and batteries is why your bill has gone up, not natural gas cost to existing powerplants. So, the majority of your bill increases were pushed upon the utilities by the regulators in the form of capital expenditures which the utilities would be remiss in not accepting. Climate is controlled by solal influences and the #1 GHG which is water vapor. CO2 is the bogeyman that can be taxed and demonized for intimidation. The Coastal Commission in their troubled wisdom thinks it’s better to install cooling towers at powerplants and pump a plume of water vapor into the atmosphere rather than allow new once-through cooling. Every ship taking materials to an OSW platform uses once-through cooling. A HVDC floating substation uses once-through cooling. Green energy takes non-green energy to build and maintain. Suck it up buttercup and point the finger at the right entity when you become indignant in the future. I think I’ll have a carbonated beverage while I conserve electricity while burning a candle and 80lbs of firewood a night to keep warm.