California seeks solutions to higher energy costs

Amid a shifting landscape of growing consumer choices and increasingly exacting emissions regulations, state utilities and regulators have pressed ahead with a variety of initiatives designed to prevent energy shortages, consumer rebellions or a perfect storm of the two.  Losing

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Proposed bill would mandate 100 percent renewable energy in California

  Joining a would-be trend that includes lawmakers in deep blue Massachusetts, Senate majority leader Kevin de León, D-Los Angeles, has unveiled a new proposal that could become California Democrats’ answer to the limits of cap-and-trade.  “The California Senate leader has introduced legislation that

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Extra electricity, but no price relief

  Fueled by a dated system that does not always respond to market incentives or pressure, costs and surpluses of energy have both grown in California, raising pointed questions about what residents should expect from rates and regulations alike. “California has a

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Is lack of competition leading to costly electricity glut?

SACRAMENTO – A top California utility official once quipped that he was one of the few executives in the country who earned a profit merely by remodeling his office. He was referring to the way the state’s regulated utility system

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Cap-and-trade deal reached, heads to Gov. Brown for approval

Gov. Jerry Brown and legislators reached an agreement on Wednesday on what to do with around a billion dollars of cap-and-trade revenue. The deal was announced earlier in the day and was approved by dinner after a longstanding battle between legislative

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Affordable housing deal appears dead for the year

A deal to spur the construction of low-income housing statewide has apparently fallen apart, according to multiple media reports. Speaker Anthony Rendon, D-Paramount, said talks have died for the year, largely because of Gov. Jerry Brown’s insistence to include provisions that would

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Survey: Californians support state’s environmental laws, could do more

Californians think the state could do more and spend more to clean up the environment, according to a new poll. According to a Public Policy Institute of California poll released Wednesday, a majority of Californians support government efforts to improve the

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Last CA nuke plant to close

California regulators have made preparations to close Diablo Canyon, the state’s last remaining nuclear power plant, in a move quickly characterized as a turning point in the nation’s approach to energy production and use. “Pacific Gas and Electric Co. announced

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AG Harris drawing fire over alleged San Onofre conflict of interest

Attorney General Kamala Harris threatens to be drawn into the controversy over the California Public Utilities Commission’s divvying up of the cost of closing the San Onofre nuclear power plant on San Diego County’s north coast. Activists are furious with

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CalWatchdog Morning Read — April 7, 2016

Good morning! We just got back from Klamath, where Gov. Jerry Brown signed an agreement to remove four dams along the Klamath River. Brown said the removal was about “correcting mistakes,” a nod to the indigenous people who inhabit the

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