Energy rates are high in California and continuing to increase. Electricity rates in particular are double the national average and rising far faster than inflation. Some farms are now paying in excess of $0.40 per kilowatt hour, which is dramatically increasing irrigation and other energy related costs.

Energy rates in California are also far more expensive than those found in other western states.

The unfortunate reality is rates are going to continue to skyrocket over the next decade. California’s aggressive climate and renewable energy goals and poor cost management by the state’s investor-owned utilities such as Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) and Southern California Edison (SCE) are driving these unsustainable increases.

Consider the following future cost drivers:

• Investments in transmission lines will cost ratepayers more than $30 billion.
• Unnecessary undergrounding of power lines to mitigate wildfires could cost ratepayers more than $25 billion.
• Extension and expansion of distribution lines to meet the state’s electrification goals will also cost ratepayers tens of billions of dollars.
• Development of expensive and unproven offshore wind resources will add tens of billions more to ratepayers’ bills.

California’s unbalanced and misguided climate policies could easily add more than $100 billion in utility investment and increased profits for IOU shareholders. Each dollar invested by utility companies cost ratepayers an estimated $3.50 over the life of the project. These cost increases will come at the expense of farmers, food processors, commercial, industrial and residential customers alike. This is why it is critical that farmers, ranchers and food processors effectively push back.

AECA has been pushing back successfully for over 30 years, having been the leading voice fighting against energy rate increases for food producers in California and have saved farmers and food processors billions of dollars in higher costs.

AECA Advocates for Agriculture

• Leads an effective team of economic and legal experts to challenge utility rate increase proposals at the CPUC.
• Coordinates agricultural advocacy organizations and energy-issue lobbying efforts in Sacramento, pushing back on costly programs and additional regulatory mandates.
• Creates and advances key programs to benefit farm and food processor energy efficiency and use in the state, including on-farm solar aggregation.
• Launched and aggressive ongoing unaffordability campaign to hold policymakers & regulators accountable.

Given the magnitude of the looming rate increases, our advocacy efforts at the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and the state legislature are no longer enough. We must capitalize on growing customer and voter outrage about inflation, affordability and skyrocketing energy costs in California. Costs that are destroying farms, residents and businesses alike.

Join us today as we push back on utility greed and mismanagement, as well as government bureaucrats who continue to simply rubber stamp these destructive rate increases. It’s time to hold utilities, legislators, the Newsom administration and his appointed regulators at the CPUC accountable!

JOIN THE FIGHT

Following are some examples of AECA’s aggressive energy affordability campaign: