California's legislature should pass SBX5, Senator Byron Sher's bill providing urgently needed new funding from the state's budget surplus for energy efficiency, renewable energy and low-income energy services. This is not just a California problem. California accounts for only about 15 percent of the increase in Western peak power use since 1995, although the state represents about 40 percent of the total system. In other words, electricity consumption for the other 10 western states has been growing more than twice as fast as California's, on average. This is one more good reason for Congress to pass S. 207 and H.R. 778.
Affordable power can be green power.
California's air, water and land-use safeguards are not to blame for this crisis. Indeed, the capacity additions anticipated over the next several years are both clean and large enough to begin improving California's air quality by displacing dirtier competitors during at least some hours of the year. Low-income citizens need immediate relief. Additional resources must be added at this crucial time, to ensure that no one loses access to essential services.