Utilities are investing billions to upgrade infrastructure and build out green energy, passing budget-breaking costs to households; trying to keep the chocolate from melting
BORREGO SPRINGS, Calif.—California is doing all it can to expand renewable energy production and rebuild its electrical infrastructure after flaws led to a series of devastating wildfires.
The state’s big utilities are spending billions to bury power lines and insulate wires, while at the same time moving quickly away from fossil fuels by building big solar and wind farms and transmission lines to carry the power.
As a result, resident Jessica Simpson Nehrer, who lives in Borrego Springs, near San Diego, has seen her electricity bill for her ranch-style house soar. It hit $1,873.90 in June, far exceeding her $1,200 rent and around double what it was two summers ago.
https://www.wsj.com/business/energy-oil/why-californians-have-some-of-the-highest-power-bills-in-the-u-s-a831b60e?st=dffqel35pudxsh2&reflink=article_email_share
Christopher K. Merker, PhD, CFA, is a director with Private Asset Management at Robert W. Baird & Co. He holds a PhD in investment governance and fiduciary effectiveness from Marquette University, where he has taught the course “Sustainable Finance” since 2009. Executive director of Fund Governance Analytics (FGA), an ESG research partnership with Marquette University, he is a member of the CFA Institute ESG Working Group, an international committee currently exploring ESG standards, publishes the blog,
Sustainable Finance, which covers current topics around governance and sustainability in investing, and is co-author of the book,
The Trustee Governance Guide: The Five Imperatives of 21st Century Investing.
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