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Comment by ww520 | Hacker News Reader

Why do the electric bills keep increasing?

In part, because the fixed infrastructure is built to serve peak demand, not average consumption. Bring down the peak (flatten the curve) and the rates will come down too.

Or, put differently, rates are high exactly because California per-capita usage is low -- fewer kWh across which to amortize costs.

Importantly, while California rates are relatively high, customer's bills are not -- because the customers use less electricity.

> In part, because the fixed infrastructure is built to serve peak demand, not average consumption.

Also, net metering and widespread consumer generation (largely solar) means that the fixed infrastructure costs are actually amortized not across the low total energy usage, but across a fraction of the total, already low, usage.

> Importantly, while California rates are relatively high, customer's bills are not

Clearly you have never dealt with SDG&E, home of the highest residential electricity rates in the country. And yes that translates to astronomical electricity bills for households

You put such a positive spin on spending more for less. You’re welcome, Californians, we’re doing you a favor!

PG&E

gotta pay for all that wildfire liability somehow!

To be fair, they also have to pay for blowing people up in natural gas explosions too.

To be more fair, they also have to pay for fixing some of the infrastructure they let deteriorate with falsified maintenance reports over the last 15 plus years.

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