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CA has much higher electricity rates than most other parts of the US. For example, in Texas electricity costs about $0.11/kWh; Washington it costs about $0.09/k
by reissbaker 7y ago
CA has much higher electricity rates than most other parts of the US. For example, in Texas electricity costs about $0.11/kWh; Washington it costs about $0.09/kWh; and the average in the US is ~$0.13/kWh.
Probably the disparity is in part because of how likely it is in CA for power lines to burn down entire towns, thanks to a dry climate with many large forests adapted for fires; CA is so naturally fire-prone that some native Californian tree species, like redwoods, require large forest fires as part of their reproductive cycle. So more line maintenance is required (although PG&E has probably not done enough...).
- K0SM0S 7y agoI see. Well, the national average seems more in line with what we'd infer from the macro. Thanks for explaining!
- kaikai 7y agoRedwoods do not require forest fires for reproduction, and no native species require large forest fires. There are plenty of native plants that need fire to reproduce, but they do better with smaller fires that produce heat to open seeds but don't damage topsoils. The large fires we have now are the result of climate change, long-term fire suppression, and unsustainable forest management. It's not normal for California, even though there are fire-dependent habitats here.
- reissbaker 7y ago"Require" was too strong a word for redwoods, but FYI they are helped by fire when reproducing and "often require" it: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sequoia_sempervirens https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sequoia_sempervirens I agree that CA is much more at risk of fire now than it naturally is, thanks to short-sighted human endeavor; I was only meaning to point out that it isn't correct to compare CA electrical rates to France as a measure of U.S. vs French rates, since CA's are so much higher than the U.S. average due to fire risk.