Virginia, one of the country’s data center hubs, had a 14 percent increase in demand and a price drop of 1 cent per kilowatt-hour. California, on the other hand, which lost a few percentage points in demand, saw prices rise by more than 6 cents per kilowatt-hour.
California is a special case. The two power companies are essentially government run and private in name only. They are so regulated that they cannot even set market prices without political control. The infrastructure has fallen into disrepair and has been responsible for starting massive fires.
Most people in the state point their outrage at PG&E and SoCal Gas not the state. It's one reason why it's so bad in my opinion. Most have no idea how much control the political system has over the energy grid.
The price of electricity is centrally controlled and increased too slowly. Unpopular opinion but one I hold. The reason I say this is because the state has basically blocked any new large scale power generation plants. So over the past 30 or so years the state has had to import power from other states. That's expensive and the main reason for the high cost.
Due to non-market pricing and (state mandated) monopoly position the companies did not properly maintain infrastructure. Not until there were massive fires caused by this mismanagement were actions taken to upgrade infrastructure. Those improvements are now being paid for in higher rates.
Today, if you do not have solar on your home you are penalized by paying a higher rate. But the state subsidized solar roll out is now stressing infrastructure as well.
There are amazing engineers in this industry and I know good people that have worked for these companies. It's incredibly frustrating to learn how this stuff works and how the public has been fooled.
California is a special case. The two power companies are essentially government run and private in name only. They are so regulated that they cannot even set market prices without political control. The infrastructure has fallen into disrepair and has been responsible for starting massive fires.
Most people in the state point their outrage at PG&E and SoCal Gas not the state. It's one reason why it's so bad in my opinion. Most have no idea how much control the political system has over the energy grid.
The price of electricity is centrally controlled and increased too slowly. Unpopular opinion but one I hold. The reason I say this is because the state has basically blocked any new large scale power generation plants. So over the past 30 or so years the state has had to import power from other states. That's expensive and the main reason for the high cost.
Due to non-market pricing and (state mandated) monopoly position the companies did not properly maintain infrastructure. Not until there were massive fires caused by this mismanagement were actions taken to upgrade infrastructure. Those improvements are now being paid for in higher rates.
Today, if you do not have solar on your home you are penalized by paying a higher rate. But the state subsidized solar roll out is now stressing infrastructure as well.
There are amazing engineers in this industry and I know good people that have worked for these companies. It's incredibly frustrating to learn how this stuff works and how the public has been fooled.