California’s list of failures is long, from high taxes and poverty to lax enforcement of theft. Crime pays, and foreign invaders are often held in higher esteem than natural-born residents. Housing, land management, water, you name it; California sets the standard for what not to do to which we can add energy. California would rather pay China to emit unregulated pollution and emissions for “green” machines that can’t possibly meet current demand. The state’s energy policy has long been a failure of poor priorities that crush ratepayers.
Put into effect in 2020 and 2021, TOU pricing is exactly what it says: You pay different rates for your electricity depending on the time of day you are using it. As SCE puts it, it costs more to produce and deliver electricity during different times of day, so this is supposed to provide “an incentive for customers to shift electricity use away from more expensive peak hours.”
In the State’s defense, Time of Use (TOU) is optional, but you have to opt out. If you didn’t or did not pick a plan that fits your usage habit, it was assigned, and you get screwed harder than usual. Cali electric rates, even the lower TOU pricing, aren’t exactly a bargain. And to be fair, one more time, TOU seems sensible on its face: supply and demand. If more people want or need it, they should be prepared to pay a price. Using energy when most humans are up and doing things costs a lot more than it would at 3 a.m. Most of the peak plans charge more between 4 pm and 9 pm.
California’s purpose here is twofold. First, it dissuades people from living comfortably by making it too expensive (IMO). Second, by forcing people to use less when needed, the state hopes to begin addressing its (planned scarcity) energy problem as it ramps up to its all-electric pipe dream. There isn’t enough now, so what happens when everything – as ordained by their Green Gods – is electric?
You may not give a damn about California, but Democrats in Vermont, New York, the Midwest, South Coast, and here in New Hampshire are following the left Coast lead. Southern California is a template.
Linda Lynch, a KTLA viewer in the Antelope Valley, was shocked to see that her electric bill skyrocketed to $900 this month, hundreds MORE than usual. Linda writes that she can barely afford food, never mind electricity.
We should point out that the Antelope Valley in Southern California saw excessive heat warnings issued for stretches of days this month. The warnings are issued when heat is forecast to be extreme and often come with an advisory to keep cool and only go out if necessary.
And Linda wasn’t the ONLY one who emailed.
Carla Chang writes, “Hello! Please look into whyyyyyy Edison is charging so much for electricity. People are receiving $600-$1000 bills.”
The why is so you stop using it and, inevitably, get used to the idea. Like how the elites use private planes and dine out unmasked or engage in otherwise forbidden behavior, electricity could become a privilege you earn. Or at least it seems that way. A world where the things they say you need that won’t begin to meet your needs are made in nations that have only recently lifted (or are lifting) themselves into the second and third world by burning an abundance of fossil fuels. The lesson is this. The Green movement to the elites has never been about emissions. No one is trying to save the planet. It is Western guilt – but too much of it. They are using their power and your money to redistribute resources from places like California to India, Africa, and China. Green policy is punishment and no one does it as well as California.
Which brings me to the headline. We hear or have heard politicians and so-called advocates demand that governments (local, state, or federal) do something to prevent price gouging. People who charge more for scarce or dwindling resources or for things they assume some risk to provide to places that need them. California’s Time of Use Rates sound a lot like price gouging. When can we expect them protest that?
Note: Cali ratepayers could opt out of TOU when it was implemented, allowing them to pay one already high rate for electricity instead of that and the TOU adjusted rate. At some point, given the arc they are on- unless they start building out some nuclear energy infrastructure – they will no longer be able to allow that.
