"Gov. Newsom's veto of the virtual power plants bill slows progress for making electricity more affordable for Californians. We now have vastly improved technologies for generating electricity. We no longer need as much centralized power generation, yet it is still the planning model used by PG&E and the other investor-owned utilities (IOUs). Instead, the IOUs should be leading the effort to grow local electricity generation through solar panels, wind turbines and batteries. Microgrids should be the main method of distribution, and costly transmission lines should be minimized."
"I worked very hard for over 50 years, saving all I could, spending nothing on specialty coffees or tattoos, but investing and giving responsibly. I would like my Bay Area home, worth well over $1 million because of time and inflation, to pass to my special-needs daughter for a residence and continued care. But she won't be able to pay the current taxes on our family home; she'll have to move out to who knows where. I cannot give her something that is clearly mine."
Gov. Newsom vetoed a bill enabling virtual power plants, slowing efforts to make electricity more affordable in California. Improved technologies allow decentralized generation, reducing reliance on centralized plants and long transmission lines. Investor-owned utilities like PG&E should lead expansion of local solar, wind, batteries, and microgrids to deliver cheaper power to ratepayers. Political polarization and fossil-fuel influence have weakened climate change as a motivating issue, so emphasizing energy affordability could better advance carbon-reduction goals. Separately, reassessment rules on inherited property can make family homes unaffordable for heirs, threatening care and housing for special-needs relatives.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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