California Utility Attempts to Suppress Energy Choice

[Jason]

California utility Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is currently attempting to push legislation through the California legislature that would help utilities maintain utility control over California's energy market. The current system allows cities and counties to make decisions regarding their power supply. For instance, they might switch from coal to solar or other renewables. Currently, citizens are automatically switched to the new providers by city or county choice, and must make the conscious decision to opt out. Under the proposed new law, customers would have to choose to opt in, and given what we know about human behavior, we are likely to see many fewer people adopt a different source of supply such as renewable energy under the proposed change to the system.

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[russ]

The greens and enviros would definitely prefer to have their choice forced on the customer rather than for the customer have to select it. Those groups are small in number but big in noise.