The extreme rise in prices is relatively recent, mostly due to the court decision post the Camp fire that said the power companies are liable for the fires. Thr

The extreme rise in prices is relatively recent, mostly due to the court decision post the Camp fire that said the power companies are liable for the fires. Through the 2010s power was around $0.15-0.30/kWh iirc but after the decision the power companies had to replace all their aging infrastructure all at once and pass the cost on to consumers. The rise coincided with the large drop in solar and battery prices, so most people just have solar now. Before installing solar and batteries my family in the exurbs did conserve very well and paid under $100/mo. I don't conserve very well and pay $125-200/mo. Worst bill I've ever had a few years ago was $700 but I was running indoor grow lights and had doors open for animals while running AC during a heatwave (it was ridiculously dumb and the cost is why I don't do it anymore).