Residential water sprinklers in action. (Photo: Fahroni, via Shutterstock)OPINION: For over a decade, Californians have been dealing with unpredictable and confusing water surcharges. That could change if the state’s Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) votes to adopt a program recommended by the Public Advocates Office (Cal Advocates) as soon as Aug. 27.
Sprinklers watering a field in Scotts Valley, Calif. (Photo: Michael Barajas, via Shutterstock)As early as Aug. 6, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) could vote to adopt a proposal that would eliminate a best-practice regulatory tool – known as decoupling – that currently removes the incentive of water suppliers to sell more water.
An illustration of an energy-producing, energy-storage system. (Image: petrmalinak, via Shutterstock)OPINION:< There are current and new emerging storage technologies to help address our need for storage that can hold very large amounts of energy. The problem is we don’t currently have the right processes in place to get these types of projects built.
Lines delivering energy and communications along a rural stretch of the Pacific Coast Highway. (Photo: Lux Blue, via Shutterstock)OPINION: California is a national leader in clean energy. Contrary to the perspective of advocates for Community Choice Aggregators (CCAs), the question before the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) on Sept. 27 is not whether our state will continue to lead the nation in renewable energy, but whether all customers will contribute equitably to the costs of those investments and to system-wide electric reliability.
High-voltage power lines at sunset. (Photo: Ron Kacmarcik, via Shutterstocfk) OPINION: California is on the verge of joining Hawaii in setting the bold but achievable goal of getting to 100 percent clean electricity in just one generation. Other neighboring states are also developing very ambitious goals to double or even triple the amount of renewable energy they will generate over the next decade.
A natural gas plant near Ventura, Calif. (Photo: Henrik Lehnerer)OPINION: California is moving faster than expected toward a clean energy future with ambitious greenhouse gas reduction targets and new innovations in renewable energy. However, there is still work to be done to ensure that all Californians can benefit from the cleaner air, local jobs and economic benefits clean energy can bring. State regulatory agencies play a powerful role in making our clean energy future a reality.
Illustration by Kheng Guan Toh, via ShutterstockOPINION: The California Public Utilities Commission is about to make a landmark decision about the merger of Charter Communications, Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks that will have a generational effect on closing—or possibly making permanent—the Digital Divide.
The Genesis Solar Energy Project near Blythe in the Mojave Desert. (Photo: The CYR Group)OPINION: Solar energy developers are working behind the scenes to sneak continuation of an industry-specific property tax exemption into the state budget deal, further tipping the playing field in their direction.
Assemblymember Steven Bradford claims that AB 1407 is needed to improve California’s LifeLine program (“PUC’s dithering hurts those who depend on basic phone service,” Capitol Weekly, July 29). According to Mr. Bradford, the California Public Utilities Commission has taken too long to revise the program, and AB 1407 will give LifeLine customers more choices while