Op-ed: A better deal on the power we need

Last week, NZC’s Director of Clean Power, Neil Matouka, published an op-ed in Capitol Weekly that describes the opportunity for California to lower energy costs for consumers while meeting its climate goals by reforming how new transmission infrastructure is financed and owned. With over $50 billion in new transmission investments needed to support growing electricity demand, the current for-profit utility model would impose heavy costs on ratepayers. New research by Net-Zero California and Clean Air Task Force found that the use of new institutional models and lower-cost public financing could reduce the cost of transmission development and ownership by more than 50%, saving up to $3 billion annually. This op-ed also highlights SB 330 (Padilla), legislation designed to achieve these savings for new investments in the largest high voltage transmission lines.

This op-ed was published in collaboration with Matthew Freedman, staff attorney for The Utility Reform Network, an independent statewide utility consumer advocacy organization.

For more information on NZC’s clean power program, please contact Neil Matouka (neil@netzerocalifornia.org).