If the looming spectre of rising electricity prices due to CARB’s upcoming “cap and trade” isn’t enough, now the Department of Water resources has opted to be less efficient by giving low cost electricity the boot. Somebody else will buy it, so there’s no net savings other than banking “feel good” capital.
From the green section of the Chico News and Review:
Coal-fired plant gets the boot
Department of Water Resources will not renew lease with Nevada plant
California’s Department of Water Resources will not renew a lease with the coal-burning Reid Gardner Power Station in Moapa Valley, Nev., as part of a recently released climate action plan.
The department aims to cut carbon emissions to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050, and the Reid Gardner plant, which has served the State Water Project (the water system that diverts water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta), accounts for one-fourth of DWR’s total emissions, according to The Sacramento Bee. Water Resources will purchase more energy from renewable energy sources, the California Independent System Operator and Lodi Energy Center, a natural gas plant beginning operations this summer.
Reid Gardner had accounted for about 10 to 15 percent of DWR’s energy for the past 30 years. The contract with the company expires in 2013.
PPL in Pennsylvania is my electric company. Technically they distribute, they are not an electricity supplier, they don’t generate it.
Two June bills, Residential rate, one is for 670kWh, other is 118kWh, priced at cents/kWh. Slight differences in rates, I’ll present them to the decimal place where they are the same. Taxes included.
Distribution Charge: Customer Charge: $8.75 (flat fee)
— 3.363 ¢/kWh
— PA Tax Adj Surcharge at -0.34500000%
Transmission Charge:
— 0.74 ¢/kWh
Generation Charge: Capacity and Energy:
— 6.4 ¢/kWh
— PA Tax Adj Surcharge at -0.28400000%
(1-0.00345)*3.363
+0.74
+(1-0.00284)*6.4
= 10.473 ¢/kWh effective rate which includes taxes
Call it 10.5 or 10. ¢/kWh, however you want to nitpick the significant digits.
PA lets you designate your electricity supplier, feel free to pay some more and believe all your electricity originates from a Green renewable solar farm in Arizona. I haven’t picked one so PPL buys the electricity for me. Price can change every three months. Amazingly enough, PPL’s volume buying yields low prices so not choosing is consistently cheapest, and without any contracts or the restrictive terms that suppliers are prone to insist on.
The “price to compare” (presumably w/o taxes) when selecting suppliers, what PPL is charging, for Residential:
3/1/2012-5/31/2012 6.935 ¢/kWh
6/1/2012-8/31/2012 7.993 ¢/kWh
Up a penny just in time for air conditioner season.
So, what are you really paying?
We pay between 7 and 8 cents /kwhr here in NW Arkansas and it comes from a coal fired plant.
I predict that in just a few short years, the rest of the country will be inviting Mexico to “Just take California back”. I also predict Mexico’s response will be, “Only if you keep the Californians.” The typical Californian appears to think a revenue bond is “free money”. The only thing keeping me here is the weather (and I’m starting to think I may no longer be able to justify the ever steepening price to be paid for lunatic public policy).
Since even going 100% natural gas won’t get them to the 80% reduction, how many KWh do they need in renewables to meet their goal? Is there that much renewable energy available in California?
They have to kill California to save it. And they won’t save it…
There will be a net increase in CO2 emissions as a result. The Reid-Gardner Plant won’t stop producing electricity and will simply sell it to someone else. Any new natural gas plant in California will be additional emissions above that. Natural gas is mostly CH4 and other hydrocarbons. All they are doing is fiddling with accounting, not reducing CO2.
If they are willing to buy the expensive electricity and let us have the cheap stuff, who am I to stop them?
No wonder the graph looks like a hockey stick. Calif has gotten itself into a real positive feedback loop, with everything working to accelerate costs. On one side they require lower consumption, which automatically raises the break-even cost of every KWH and cuts investment. On the other side they remove generators, which makes more conservation critically necessary, thus raising the break-even cost…. and on and on.
Nature doesn’t have tipping points, but murderous Gaia-poisoned humans will go critical every time.
John G
In Victoria, southern Australia, our electrical prices have just gone up because of the new carbon tax, new rate first 1000 kWh $.21.3598, next 4000 kWh $.22.0968, balance $.22.4048 with a daily supply charge of $.66. It’s about a 2c plus a little bit more increase from what they were charging. This in a place where they once boasted about having some of the cheepest electricity in the world. Come on the next election so we can get rid of the current Federal Government.
My new bill for last month just came and it was at $.0852/KWh. Add a $5.90 monthly customer base charge and $8.50 in taxes and fees for a total bill of just over $97 for the month. Don’t forget I live in SW Florida where day time highs are in the 90’s and we use a/c when home. Not too shabby I would say. Did I mention there is no State income tax in Florida?
In Northern Virginia we are paying around $0.07 to $0.08 per kWh.
They are working small SOFC fuels cells. As long as cheap shale gas exists, soon the technology might allow some people to bypass the utilities completely for less money.
Welcome to Dystopia. The future is going to become dark, poor and violent thanks to the legacy of the green cult.
California…..State of Confusion…..Divorced from Reality
rabbit says:
June 21, 2012 at 2:28 pm
Do Californians have some sort of death wish? Or are they sensible people who are being held hostage by a cadre of environmental radicals?
Interesting questions, and as an import to CA (1986) I have had many an occasion to ponder. In fact just Tuesday a couple of lawyers and I were slapsticking the AB 904 “hockey puck” around by email. It started off with this:
“Fw: Roundtable Discussion on AB 904 = Tuesday, June 26 (4pm)
FYI. More AB 32 initiatives. Forget this incrementalism, just making it harder to find parking spaces. Why not get to the point and legislate that we can’t own more than one car? How about no cars and mandate use of public transportation or bikes or walking (and must live no farther than X miles from work)? Coming next! To reduce VMT and save the world! California can do it. Yes we can!
Amazing. It will do wonders for the economy, don’t you think? Can’t park, can’t drive….can’t shop… And with the density they want, no personal vegetable gardens either.
Some may not appreciate my response but consider the reason within:
“RE: Roundtable Discussion on AB 904 = Tuesday, June 26 (4pm)
This is what comes to mind these days on AB 32/904:
HAL: ‘Just a moment…….. Just a moment…….. I’ve just picked up a fault in the AE-35 unit. It will go 100 percent failure within 72 hours.’ states the HAL 9000 computer in 2001 A Space Odyssey.
We had the chance with Prop. 23 to essentially neuter AB 32 and it went down in flames. From that moment on I turned on AB 32. California’s “AE-35” unit are its people, and we picked up the imminent fault with our people with Prop. 23.
Back to the script:
HAL: Yes, it’s puzzling. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything quite like this before.
HAL: I would recommend that we put the unit back in operation and let it fail.
I say Ditto.”
To which the other lawyer responded:
“The best way to get rid of a stupid/idiotic/imbecilic law is to enforce the hell out of it…….”
P.S. And pardons to all, especially REP for my slip-up last night on another thread here. I had two browsers up, one on WUWT the other on another WordPress site. Not sure how I switched between them but the post here was meant for there.
[REPLY: Da Nada. Things happen and moderators gotta do what moderators gotta do. -REP]
I am beginning to think that the big quake that’s overdue in California is actually going to be a blessing as it will gravel the state into smaller manageable bits populated by survivors that will shoot anyone on sight who gets in the way of their recovery.
The California environmental lobby – among others – is working very hard to see that the San Onofre nuclear reactors are not turned on again. Current plans are to restart no earlier than August. If this turns out to be a hot summer, we could see the dreaded rolling blackouts.
Well, here in South Australia we are already paying your 2026 price.
California doing the same as stupid Europe.
The productive are fast approaching a point of no return. That is when the physical strength of society has been sapped to such an extent that a generation finally is born that glorifies in production of inactivity and the rest of humanity simply cannot afford it; and, that’s when the Greece hits the Spain and California’s sour grape economics push Blue Cities into bankruptcy.
http://evilincandescentbulb.wordpress.com/2012/05/03/when-a-free-man-cant-be-trusted/
The only thing they forgot was to change the state’s name to Zimbabwe.
Even though global macroeconomics hint increasingly at deflation, CA, always against the grain, is trying its level best (worst?) to incite regional stagflation!
Is Waddles Gillard also the ruler of California?
Aussie,
Just as bad, we have Jerry “Moonbeam” Brown.
I wish my average cost per KwH were 15c per KwH, here in CA. Unfortunately, I have kids that leave the massive number of lights on in our home.
I’m going to spend roughly $4,000 to go to LED lights for this reason alone. I’ll make it up within a few years.
jdgalt says:
June 21, 2012 at 7:29 pm
“The only thing they forgot was to change the state’s name to Zimbabwe.”
I like that… “Zimbabwefornia.”
PGE the northern california utility petitioned the PUC (state public utility commission)
to lower rates but the PUC refused.