Comments on: Is There a Zero-Cost Regulatory Solution to Energy Efficiency?

By: Daniel

Daniel — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 14:09:43 +0000

I’ve also heard that California has higher than average occupancy per house. I have not idea if this is true, but it would be one more reason per capita electricity rates are so low.

By: DKH

DKH — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 05:53:22 +0000

The categories seem to be

Residential
Commercial
Industrial
Transportation

See, for example, http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/aer/consump.html .

I would have expected agricultural as well? Maybe that’s under industrial.

By: ErikTheRed

ErikTheRed — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 22:37:35 +0000

What else is in the total besides residential and industrial?

Tanning beds and liposuction machines.

By: Bob Smith

Bob Smith — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 16:31:18 +0000

What else is in the total besides residential and industrial?

Retail is my bet.

By: Jim Hu

Jim Hu — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 15:22:28 +0000

Just wondering… It looks like CA is 20% industrial + less than 50% residential. What else is in the total besides residential and industrial? Other commercial? I’m guessing that electric consumption by the service/information sectors counts in the other parts – e.g. Google’s server farms, lots of white-collar offices etc. Is that right?

By: ErikTheRed

ErikTheRed — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 14:04:12 +0000

Nice post, minor typo you may want to fix: in your industrial usage chart it says “per capital” instead of “per capita.”

By: Corky Boyd

Corky Boyd — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 13:39:50 +0000

You have nailed it. As I started to read your story, my first thought was California has reduced consuption by driving out most of the high energy use industrial customers with high prices. You answered that. 15 cent electricity is the best way to to eliminate industry in your state.

Another way is the proposed allowable rate of return for electric utilities. Under a proposal floating around late last year, utilities would be allowed a lower rate of return if they sold more electricity than the year before. Aside from the fact the utilities can't control use, only their customers can, this makes no economic sense. I pointed out to the writer of the article (San Jose MN) that if NUMMI Motors (Toyota/GM) in Freemont wanted to double the capacity of the plant (adding 2,000 jobs), the utility would be penalized. Ditto if Los Angeles wanted to solve their drinking water crisis with reverse osmosis plants (notorious users of electicity). No answer. I'm not sure if the variable rate of return proposal ever went into effect. I hope not.

California has driven their highly taxed industry over the border to Nevada and Arizona to your benefit. Now they are facing a $14 billion deficit they can't resolve.

By: Bob Smith

Bob Smith — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 11:14:38 +0000

By chasing industry out of the state California moves ever closer to the perfect socialist utopia. Success, comrade!