Lights Out: California Power Problems Are About To Get Worse

Time to stock up on candles and matches and brace for blackouts in California! 

Over the next few years, the state will face even more of an “unprecedented strain” on its electrical grid than even seen in Summer 2022 - and rolling blackouts are now likely to become a routine thing. 

Before you fall for the misinformation from the liberal media and state politicians that YOU are to blame for using too much energy, the real truth is Californians are more energy efficient than ever. 

“It’s California politicians who are actually to blame for choking off the state’s once-reliable and affordable supply of energy,” says Carl DeMaio, Chairman of Reform California.

In 2020, Californians used less electricity annually than they did in 2014 (272,000 GWH in 2020 versus 297,000 GWH in 2014.) Californians are able to keep their power needs down because they are more energy efficient — something they should be praised for. 

But DeMaio says the politicians and media don’t want you to know that - because then you might realize that it is actually the government’s fault for blackouts.

DeMaio points to the state’s problem with energy production. In 2014, California power sources generated 199,000 GWH — but our state’s power production went down to just 191,000 GWH in 2020. California is forced to import over one-third of its power from other states.

“For years California Democrats have imposed costly regulations and have restricted the production of energy within our state,” says Carl DeMaio.  

“As a result of these mandates and restrictions, California now has to import more than a third of its energy from neighboring states,” DeMaio notes.

“So when it gets hot in the Southwest, Arizona and Nevada can’t send us their excess power supply because they need it for their residents - and it’s lights out in California as a result,” DeMaio warns.

DeMaio also warns things are about to get much worse.

That’s because last week the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) rejected a request from Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (PG&E) to continue its license renewal application for the Diablo Canyon Power Plant. Diablo is the only operational nuclear plant and largest single power station in the state after the shutdown of San Onofre in 2013 — and its current licenses expire in 2024 and 2025.

Diablo provides 5-8% of the energy California uses everyday.  

“Losing that much energy in one fell swoop would be a devastating blow - but that’s what far-Left activists are demanding,” DeMaio says.

On top of losing power generation capacity, the electric grid is about to see demand spike because of new all-electric mandates being pushed by California Democrats.

The California Air Resources Control Board recently imposed a mandate to eliminate the sale of all gas-powered cars in California within the next 10 years.

On top of that CA Democrats have proposed to ban all natural gas appliances in every building and home - and force homeowners to foot the bill for expensive home retrofits to switch to all-electric appliances at a cost of roughly $30,000 per home.

DeMaio says California has no plan to generate (or reliably buy) all the extra electricity that would be needed to charge millions of electric cars and power all-electric appliances in every home and building.

“The ‘all-electric’ mandates being pushed by California Democrats are completely insane because they will lead to less energy efficiency, blackouts and higher costs,” DeMaio warns.

“It used to be that environmentalism meant ‘waste not, want not’ but these energy policies being pushed by California Democrats are insanely wasteful of energy,” DeMaio notes.

For example, a gas stove is highly fuel efficient in cooking - but if you needed to generate electricity for an electric stove a natural gas power plant only recovers roughly 48% of energy from its burning of natural gas.

On top of that if California is forced to continue to import power from other states, ratepayers will be forced to pay for all the energy that is lost as it is transported across power lines.

By switching to all-electric vehicles and appliances, the existing electric utility infrastructure will also have to be expanded at a cost of hundreds of billions of dollars. 

DeMaio says that not only have these policy decisions affected supply, but they’ve impacted the cost of gas and utilities for residents in recent years as well.

State kWh energy rates have increased more than 11 percent and natural gas rates more than 25 percent in just one year. 

DeMaio says Californians have long been paying more than they should be because of “policy failures” by state leaders. 

“California Democrats have imposed so many mandates, taxes and regulations on gas and energy that we have by far the highest rates in the nation — and it’s all a crushing burden being imposed on working families by politicians who don’t seem to care about the cost impacts,” DeMaio says.

The cost comparisons between California and the US national average for gas and electricity back up DeMaio’s assessment. 

For electricity rates, California’s kWh rate is now 250% more than the national average.

Through the Transparency Foundation, DeMaio is now leading an independent audit of California state energy costs - with a report due out soon.

In the meantime DeMaio is asking for the public to help stop the new “all-electric” mandates that California politicians are seeking to impose in the state.