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"content": "\u003cp>For three days last December, when Kenya Brown’s youngest four kids weren’t in school, they spent their time at her oldest son’s apartment. They did their homework, charged their phones, showered and had dinner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The children returned to the family home only to sleep. Instead of the normal chatter of TV shows and the sparkle of hall lights, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12051850/as-californias-electricity-rates-rise-parents-struggle-to-pay-their-bills\">the house was dark and cold\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101911358/new-state-climate-plan-to-reduce-energy-costs-fortify-grid\">Their utilities had been shut off\u003c/a> — no heat, no lights, no hot water, no gas for cooking; \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101910733/why-your-energy-bill-has-gotten-so-expensive-and-what-can-be-done-about-it\">Brown hadn’t paid the bill in months\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brown’s bills are like many others in California: high, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12033386/pge-electricity-rates-have-jumped-nearly-70-since-2020\">especially in recent years\u003c/a>. Her electricity and gas bills regularly top $500 a month for the one-story home she’s rented for the past ten years in the East Bay city of Bay Point.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The money from her job at the time as a full-time cashier at Walmart paid for rent, her car loan, and food.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I have to decide: am I going to pay this bill or am I gonna eat food? And I choose food,” Brown said, noting that it’s hard to keep up with the appetites of four growing kids, even with federal food assistance and trips to the food bank.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1999441\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/12/20251105_High-electricity-bills_GH-5_qed-1.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1999441\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/12/20251105_High-electricity-bills_GH-5_qed-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/12/20251105_High-electricity-bills_GH-5_qed-1.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/12/20251105_High-electricity-bills_GH-5_qed-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/12/20251105_High-electricity-bills_GH-5_qed-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/12/20251105_High-electricity-bills_GH-5_qed-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kenya Brown views her house in Bay Point on Nov. 5, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Brown has tried cutting back on electricity use. She’s asked her kids to turn down the heat and turn off lights and TVs. She weatherized her home, taking advantage of a \u003ca href=\"https://www.csd.ca.gov/Pages/Residential-Energy-Efficiency.aspx\">free federal program\u003c/a> meant to reduce utility costs. She didn’t notice a difference in her bottom line, though.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s never been this high before,” Brown said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brown’s son’s teacher got wind of the power disconnection in the family’s home. She set up a GoFundMe, which raised $3000 to restore electricity and gas, and pay past-due bills.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s electricity rates are the \u003ca href=\"https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4950#:~:text=Summary,customers%20pay%20can%20vary%20widely.\">second-highest\u003c/a> in the country after Hawaii, and a majority of Californians say the expense is a top \u003ca href=\"https://www.ppic.org/publication/californians-and-the-energy-transition/#:~:text=Californians%20are%20frustrated%20by%20energy%20affordability%20*,economy%20a%20great%20deal%20in%20the%20future.\">concern\u003c/a>. The burden is even higher for low-income families: according to the Public Policy Institute of California, low-income households pay a \u003ca href=\"https://www.ppic.org/blog/low-income-households-struggle-with-the-cost-of-electricity-bills/\">much larger\u003c/a> portion of their income on electricity bills compared to households earning more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Staff at 211 Bay Area, a United Way hotline that refers people to support for food, housing and more, said they fielded more than 6000 calls about utility assistance from January to October this year, compared to around 2000 over that same time period in 2020.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Utility assistance is in our top three most requested needs,” said Clare Margason, 211 Bay Area’s senior director.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What’s in a bill?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>It’s no shocker that electricity is expensive in California, but what exactly are you paying for? Glancing at your bill will likely leave you more confused: there is a dizzying array of charges, credits, adjustments, taxes and more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>KQED took Brown’s bill to a group of experts to decode it, and in doing so found that her bill included a miscalculation: Brown qualifies for CARE, a program meant to help offset energy costs for low-income Californians, but she is only getting that discount on what she pays for gas, not electricity.[aside postID=science_1999095 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/02/RS60056_023_KQED_HomeElectrificationOakland_11072022-qut-1020x680.jpg']PG&E told KQED in a statement that the company fixed the error and Brown will receive a credit on her next bill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brown did not think to question her bills, however, because each month she sees a CARE discount, and high utility bills seem to be the norm when she talks to family and friends.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are real barriers to seeking help for high utility bills, said Constance Slider Pierre, who oversees \u003ca href=\"https://url.us.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/w8rYCXDM32FGNgOxt6f5CWeNI8?domain=turn.org\">The Utility Reform Network\u003c/a>’s consumer hotline. Barriers include speaking limited English, confusion over how to read bills, and difficulty reaching customer service representatives, Slider Pierre said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For this story, KQED spoke to experts at UC Berkeley, UC Santa Barbara, the Natural Resources Defense Council, The Utility Reform Network and California’s largest utility, PG&E.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s worth pointing out that it takes multiple experts, maybe some PhDs, and a bunch of phone calls to understand one electricity bill in California,” Mohit Chhabra of the Natural Resources Defense Council said of the long list of experts KQED spoke to for this story. “If you want people to actually understand [their bills], simplifying the front end would be useful.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We looked at Brown’s bill to understand what she and others pay for and what those charges mean.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Brown spent $576.37 on electricity in September.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1999429\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1271.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1999429\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1271.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1271.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1271-2000x1500.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1271-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1271-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1271-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1271-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An illustration of Kenya Brown’s September 2025 energy bill. \u003ccite>(Anna Vignet/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Energy Generation. 25-45%, Brown paid $173.93\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is the cost of producing energy: from sources like natural gas, solar, wind, hydro and nuclear, and the upkeep of these power plants. Utilities generate some of their own energy, but buy the majority of it from third parties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Brown’s case, her energy comes from MCE, a community power provider that serves some North and East Bay counties. Community choice aggregators like MCE first sprouted up in 2010 as an alternative to investor-owned utilities for buying or generating energy. MCE still relies on PG&E’s poles and wires, so Brown pays a portion of her bill to MCE for electricity generation, and another to PG&E to deliver that electricity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The cost of energy generation is similar, whether you’re enrolled in a community power provider or PG&E.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1999428\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1275.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1999428\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1275.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1275.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1275-2000x1500.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1275-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1275-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1275-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1275-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An illustration of Kenya Brown’s September 2025 energy bill. \u003ccite>(Anna Vignet/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Electric Delivery, Brown paid $402.44\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is the cost of moving energy from where it’s created at a power plant or a solar farm to your home. There are tons of aspects to this system, including transmission and distribution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1999430\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1270.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1999430\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1270.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1270.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1270-2000x1500.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1270-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1270-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1270-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1270-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An illustration of Kenya Brown’s September 2025 energy bill. \u003ccite>(Anna Vignet/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Transmission. \u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>7-12%, Brown paid $50.03 \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The transmission system is like a superhighway for electrons. These are the huge towers and high voltage wires you see while driving along the actual highway.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Distribution. \u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>38-45%, Brown paid $292.63\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The distribution system is like all the roads on which you travel after you exit the highway: main thoroughfares, residential streets, even your driveway. These are the poles and wires that connect to your home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Maintaining both transmission and distribution systems means Californians pay utilities for a variety of work meant to prevent wildfires, like cutting trees along power lines, or covering or undergrounding wires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wildfire expenses more than doubled between 2023 and 2024, making up almost \u003ca href=\"http://publicadvocates.cpuc.ca.gov/-/media/cal-advocates-website/files/press-room/reports-and-analyses/240613-public-advocates-office-electric-ious-wildfire-cost-increases.pdf\">a quarter\u003c/a> of the total revenue PG&E collected from customers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wildfire costs include both paying for past disasters – rebuilding and paying claims to people harmed – and preparing the grid for future calamities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Severin Borenstein, a professor of energy and economics at UC Berkeley, said 30 years ago, customers would pay just a couple of cents a month for distribution in their electricity bill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was basically putting up wires around neighborhoods and then maintaining them,” Borenstein said. “Now that [cost] is many, many times higher because almost all of the fires that have been started are distribution level fires.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Climate change has greatly increased the risks of out-of-control fires caused by falling trees or failing poles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re spending an enormous amount of money to avoid that risk,” Borenstein said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Public Purpose Programs. 5-6%, Brown paid $33.57\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This fee funds programs that help offset electricity costs for low-income Californians. For example, the CARE program provides at least a 20% discount on gas and electricity rates for those who qualify. It also includes energy efficiency programs, like the one Kenya Brown used to help weatherize her home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1999427\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1272.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1999427\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1272.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1272.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1272-2000x1500.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1272-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1272-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1272-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1272-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An illustration of Kenya Brown’s September 2025 energy bill. \u003ccite>(Anna Vignet/KQED )\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>How much money goes to PG&E shareholders? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E said less than 1% of a typical residential bill is paid out to shareholders as dividends — cash payments the company gives to people who own PG&E stock.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Kenya Brown’s $648.04 gas and electric bill, she paid under $6.48 to PG&E shareholders.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "A fraction of your bill goes to actually generating electricity, while costs to pay for past wildfires and prevent future ones have skyrocketed.",
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"title": "Bay Area Electricity Bills Are Some of the Highest. Where Does Your Money Go? | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>For three days last December, when Kenya Brown’s youngest four kids weren’t in school, they spent their time at her oldest son’s apartment. They did their homework, charged their phones, showered and had dinner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The children returned to the family home only to sleep. Instead of the normal chatter of TV shows and the sparkle of hall lights, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12051850/as-californias-electricity-rates-rise-parents-struggle-to-pay-their-bills\">the house was dark and cold\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101911358/new-state-climate-plan-to-reduce-energy-costs-fortify-grid\">Their utilities had been shut off\u003c/a> — no heat, no lights, no hot water, no gas for cooking; \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101910733/why-your-energy-bill-has-gotten-so-expensive-and-what-can-be-done-about-it\">Brown hadn’t paid the bill in months\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brown’s bills are like many others in California: high, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12033386/pge-electricity-rates-have-jumped-nearly-70-since-2020\">especially in recent years\u003c/a>. Her electricity and gas bills regularly top $500 a month for the one-story home she’s rented for the past ten years in the East Bay city of Bay Point.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The money from her job at the time as a full-time cashier at Walmart paid for rent, her car loan, and food.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I have to decide: am I going to pay this bill or am I gonna eat food? And I choose food,” Brown said, noting that it’s hard to keep up with the appetites of four growing kids, even with federal food assistance and trips to the food bank.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1999441\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/12/20251105_High-electricity-bills_GH-5_qed-1.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1999441\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/12/20251105_High-electricity-bills_GH-5_qed-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/12/20251105_High-electricity-bills_GH-5_qed-1.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/12/20251105_High-electricity-bills_GH-5_qed-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/12/20251105_High-electricity-bills_GH-5_qed-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/12/20251105_High-electricity-bills_GH-5_qed-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kenya Brown views her house in Bay Point on Nov. 5, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Brown has tried cutting back on electricity use. She’s asked her kids to turn down the heat and turn off lights and TVs. She weatherized her home, taking advantage of a \u003ca href=\"https://www.csd.ca.gov/Pages/Residential-Energy-Efficiency.aspx\">free federal program\u003c/a> meant to reduce utility costs. She didn’t notice a difference in her bottom line, though.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s never been this high before,” Brown said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brown’s son’s teacher got wind of the power disconnection in the family’s home. She set up a GoFundMe, which raised $3000 to restore electricity and gas, and pay past-due bills.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s electricity rates are the \u003ca href=\"https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4950#:~:text=Summary,customers%20pay%20can%20vary%20widely.\">second-highest\u003c/a> in the country after Hawaii, and a majority of Californians say the expense is a top \u003ca href=\"https://www.ppic.org/publication/californians-and-the-energy-transition/#:~:text=Californians%20are%20frustrated%20by%20energy%20affordability%20*,economy%20a%20great%20deal%20in%20the%20future.\">concern\u003c/a>. The burden is even higher for low-income families: according to the Public Policy Institute of California, low-income households pay a \u003ca href=\"https://www.ppic.org/blog/low-income-households-struggle-with-the-cost-of-electricity-bills/\">much larger\u003c/a> portion of their income on electricity bills compared to households earning more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Staff at 211 Bay Area, a United Way hotline that refers people to support for food, housing and more, said they fielded more than 6000 calls about utility assistance from January to October this year, compared to around 2000 over that same time period in 2020.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Utility assistance is in our top three most requested needs,” said Clare Margason, 211 Bay Area’s senior director.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What’s in a bill?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>It’s no shocker that electricity is expensive in California, but what exactly are you paying for? Glancing at your bill will likely leave you more confused: there is a dizzying array of charges, credits, adjustments, taxes and more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>KQED took Brown’s bill to a group of experts to decode it, and in doing so found that her bill included a miscalculation: Brown qualifies for CARE, a program meant to help offset energy costs for low-income Californians, but she is only getting that discount on what she pays for gas, not electricity.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>PG&E told KQED in a statement that the company fixed the error and Brown will receive a credit on her next bill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brown did not think to question her bills, however, because each month she sees a CARE discount, and high utility bills seem to be the norm when she talks to family and friends.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are real barriers to seeking help for high utility bills, said Constance Slider Pierre, who oversees \u003ca href=\"https://url.us.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/w8rYCXDM32FGNgOxt6f5CWeNI8?domain=turn.org\">The Utility Reform Network\u003c/a>’s consumer hotline. Barriers include speaking limited English, confusion over how to read bills, and difficulty reaching customer service representatives, Slider Pierre said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For this story, KQED spoke to experts at UC Berkeley, UC Santa Barbara, the Natural Resources Defense Council, The Utility Reform Network and California’s largest utility, PG&E.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s worth pointing out that it takes multiple experts, maybe some PhDs, and a bunch of phone calls to understand one electricity bill in California,” Mohit Chhabra of the Natural Resources Defense Council said of the long list of experts KQED spoke to for this story. “If you want people to actually understand [their bills], simplifying the front end would be useful.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We looked at Brown’s bill to understand what she and others pay for and what those charges mean.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Brown spent $576.37 on electricity in September.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1999429\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1271.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1999429\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1271.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1271.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1271-2000x1500.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1271-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1271-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1271-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1271-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An illustration of Kenya Brown’s September 2025 energy bill. \u003ccite>(Anna Vignet/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Energy Generation. 25-45%, Brown paid $173.93\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is the cost of producing energy: from sources like natural gas, solar, wind, hydro and nuclear, and the upkeep of these power plants. Utilities generate some of their own energy, but buy the majority of it from third parties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Brown’s case, her energy comes from MCE, a community power provider that serves some North and East Bay counties. Community choice aggregators like MCE first sprouted up in 2010 as an alternative to investor-owned utilities for buying or generating energy. MCE still relies on PG&E’s poles and wires, so Brown pays a portion of her bill to MCE for electricity generation, and another to PG&E to deliver that electricity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The cost of energy generation is similar, whether you’re enrolled in a community power provider or PG&E.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1999428\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1275.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1999428\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1275.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1275.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1275-2000x1500.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1275-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1275-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1275-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1275-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An illustration of Kenya Brown’s September 2025 energy bill. \u003ccite>(Anna Vignet/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Electric Delivery, Brown paid $402.44\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is the cost of moving energy from where it’s created at a power plant or a solar farm to your home. There are tons of aspects to this system, including transmission and distribution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1999430\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1270.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1999430\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1270.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1270.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1270-2000x1500.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1270-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1270-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1270-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1270-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An illustration of Kenya Brown’s September 2025 energy bill. \u003ccite>(Anna Vignet/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Transmission. \u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>7-12%, Brown paid $50.03 \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The transmission system is like a superhighway for electrons. These are the huge towers and high voltage wires you see while driving along the actual highway.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Distribution. \u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>38-45%, Brown paid $292.63\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The distribution system is like all the roads on which you travel after you exit the highway: main thoroughfares, residential streets, even your driveway. These are the poles and wires that connect to your home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Maintaining both transmission and distribution systems means Californians pay utilities for a variety of work meant to prevent wildfires, like cutting trees along power lines, or covering or undergrounding wires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wildfire expenses more than doubled between 2023 and 2024, making up almost \u003ca href=\"http://publicadvocates.cpuc.ca.gov/-/media/cal-advocates-website/files/press-room/reports-and-analyses/240613-public-advocates-office-electric-ious-wildfire-cost-increases.pdf\">a quarter\u003c/a> of the total revenue PG&E collected from customers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wildfire costs include both paying for past disasters – rebuilding and paying claims to people harmed – and preparing the grid for future calamities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Severin Borenstein, a professor of energy and economics at UC Berkeley, said 30 years ago, customers would pay just a couple of cents a month for distribution in their electricity bill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was basically putting up wires around neighborhoods and then maintaining them,” Borenstein said. “Now that [cost] is many, many times higher because almost all of the fires that have been started are distribution level fires.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Climate change has greatly increased the risks of out-of-control fires caused by falling trees or failing poles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re spending an enormous amount of money to avoid that risk,” Borenstein said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Public Purpose Programs. 5-6%, Brown paid $33.57\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This fee funds programs that help offset electricity costs for low-income Californians. For example, the CARE program provides at least a 20% discount on gas and electricity rates for those who qualify. It also includes energy efficiency programs, like the one Kenya Brown used to help weatherize her home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1999427\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1272.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1999427\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1272.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1272.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1272-2000x1500.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1272-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1272-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1272-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/IMG_1272-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An illustration of Kenya Brown’s September 2025 energy bill. \u003ccite>(Anna Vignet/KQED )\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>How much money goes to PG&E shareholders? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E said less than 1% of a typical residential bill is paid out to shareholders as dividends — cash payments the company gives to people who own PG&E stock.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Kenya Brown’s $648.04 gas and electric bill, she paid under $6.48 to PG&E shareholders.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>This week, people from around the world descended on Belém, Brazil, a gateway to the Amazon rainforest. They’re there for the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/united-nations\">United Nations\u003c/a>’ annual climate summit, called COP30, so-named for the 30 years the meeting has been in existence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But missing among them will be delegates from the federal government of the U.S., including President Trump, who has denied the existence of climate change. The lack of federal officials does not mean the country won’t be represented, however. Filling the void are leaders from states and cities alike. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1998536/newsom-signs-climate-energy-bills-charting-state-course-through-perilous-mid-transition\">And California is leading the pack\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“California is a stable and reliable partner in low-carbon green growth,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said while attending the gathering along with several of his top climate leaders. “I’m here because I don’t want the United States of America to be a footnote at this conference.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s embarrassing that the federal government is missing in action on this global crisis,” said Wade Crowfoot, California’s Natural Resources Secretary, who’s in Brazil alongside Newsom this week and spoke with KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the formal part of the conference involves delegates hammering out goals around reducing emissions and more, California has been working through other channels, from both informal meetings to signing memorandums of understanding with other countries, states, and cities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The fact is that states and cities, led by California, are working to fill the void,” Crowfoot said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1999275\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1999275\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/WadeCrowfootGetty.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/WadeCrowfootGetty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/WadeCrowfootGetty-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/WadeCrowfootGetty-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/WadeCrowfootGetty-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Secretary for Natural Resources State of California Wade Crowfoot speaks during a San Onofre lease agreement celebration at Trail 6 in San Onofre State Park on Monday, April 21, 2025. \u003ccite>(Leonard Ortiz/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>California has long punched above its weight in shaping U.S. environmental rules. In the late \u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R48168#:~:text=In%20the%20Air%20Quality%20Act,the%20United%20States%20in%202023\">1950s\u003c/a>, the state established clean air standards before the federal Clean Air Act, signed by President Richard Nixon in \u003ca href=\"https://www.epa.gov/clean-air-act-overview/40th-anniversary-clean-air-act\">1970\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over time, the state has partnered with other countries like \u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.ca.gov/sites/default/files/2019-12/MOU-Beijing_MEPB_China_ADA.pdf\">China\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/8.15.23-MOU.pdf\">Australia\u003c/a> on goals like improving air quality. Crowfoot said these agreements are both symbolic and substantive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In each instance, the policy and program staff of the different jurisdictions spends months, sometimes a couple of years, really identifying capacities or technologies or expertise that that one government has that the other government might be interested in,” Crowfoot said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California partnered with \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/FILE_7258.pdf\">Brazil\u003c/a> in September to help it set up a carbon market. Another recent \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1998214/california-and-denmark-sign-comprehensive-agreement-on-climate-and-tech\">deal will bring Danish flood management expertise to California’s delta region\u003c/a>.[aside postID=news_12060700 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251016-DUBAICHOCOLATES-09-BL-KQED.jpg']Experts said agreements like these aren’t new, but they are more visible given the vacuum of federal climate leadership.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom is not the only U.S. governor attending the conference or \u003ca href=\"https://www.bloomberg.org/cop30-local-leaders-forum/\">meetings\u003c/a> happening around the formal event. Governors Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico and Tony Evers of Wisconsin also traveled to the climate event.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The impact of governors and mayors traveling to Brazil is to make sure that the rest of the global community recognizes how much progress the United States is still making in spite of the headwinds,” said Casey Katims, executive director of the U.S. Climate Alliance, a coalition of American governors committed to keeping emissions low.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chris Field, director of Stanford’s Woods Institute for the Environment, said the federal government is forfeiting leadership and future economic opportunities by not attending or taking action on climate. But, he said, non-nation actors do matter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are critically important roles for states and companies and communities and even individuals. The whole thing is going to be successful only if we can figure out a way to get everybody moving in the same direction,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s consistency, despite which political party has held the governor’s office, has been very important in moving the climate needle, Field said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gov. Newsom has already signed even more agreements while in Brazil. One is with Colombia, to address, among other things, the potent greenhouse gas methane. And another is with Nigeria, to help increase the adoption of electric vehicles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state’s representation at COP comes as President Trump has rolled back national climate policies. And, for the second time, the U.S. began the process of removing itself from the Paris agreement, which aims to limit global warming.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>This week, people from around the world descended on Belém, Brazil, a gateway to the Amazon rainforest. They’re there for the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/united-nations\">United Nations\u003c/a>’ annual climate summit, called COP30, so-named for the 30 years the meeting has been in existence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But missing among them will be delegates from the federal government of the U.S., including President Trump, who has denied the existence of climate change. The lack of federal officials does not mean the country won’t be represented, however. Filling the void are leaders from states and cities alike. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1998536/newsom-signs-climate-energy-bills-charting-state-course-through-perilous-mid-transition\">And California is leading the pack\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“California is a stable and reliable partner in low-carbon green growth,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said while attending the gathering along with several of his top climate leaders. “I’m here because I don’t want the United States of America to be a footnote at this conference.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s embarrassing that the federal government is missing in action on this global crisis,” said Wade Crowfoot, California’s Natural Resources Secretary, who’s in Brazil alongside Newsom this week and spoke with KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the formal part of the conference involves delegates hammering out goals around reducing emissions and more, California has been working through other channels, from both informal meetings to signing memorandums of understanding with other countries, states, and cities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The fact is that states and cities, led by California, are working to fill the void,” Crowfoot said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1999275\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1999275\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/WadeCrowfootGetty.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/WadeCrowfootGetty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/WadeCrowfootGetty-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/WadeCrowfootGetty-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/WadeCrowfootGetty-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Secretary for Natural Resources State of California Wade Crowfoot speaks during a San Onofre lease agreement celebration at Trail 6 in San Onofre State Park on Monday, April 21, 2025. \u003ccite>(Leonard Ortiz/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>California has long punched above its weight in shaping U.S. environmental rules. In the late \u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R48168#:~:text=In%20the%20Air%20Quality%20Act,the%20United%20States%20in%202023\">1950s\u003c/a>, the state established clean air standards before the federal Clean Air Act, signed by President Richard Nixon in \u003ca href=\"https://www.epa.gov/clean-air-act-overview/40th-anniversary-clean-air-act\">1970\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over time, the state has partnered with other countries like \u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.ca.gov/sites/default/files/2019-12/MOU-Beijing_MEPB_China_ADA.pdf\">China\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/8.15.23-MOU.pdf\">Australia\u003c/a> on goals like improving air quality. Crowfoot said these agreements are both symbolic and substantive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In each instance, the policy and program staff of the different jurisdictions spends months, sometimes a couple of years, really identifying capacities or technologies or expertise that that one government has that the other government might be interested in,” Crowfoot said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California partnered with \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/FILE_7258.pdf\">Brazil\u003c/a> in September to help it set up a carbon market. Another recent \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1998214/california-and-denmark-sign-comprehensive-agreement-on-climate-and-tech\">deal will bring Danish flood management expertise to California’s delta region\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Experts said agreements like these aren’t new, but they are more visible given the vacuum of federal climate leadership.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom is not the only U.S. governor attending the conference or \u003ca href=\"https://www.bloomberg.org/cop30-local-leaders-forum/\">meetings\u003c/a> happening around the formal event. Governors Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico and Tony Evers of Wisconsin also traveled to the climate event.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The impact of governors and mayors traveling to Brazil is to make sure that the rest of the global community recognizes how much progress the United States is still making in spite of the headwinds,” said Casey Katims, executive director of the U.S. Climate Alliance, a coalition of American governors committed to keeping emissions low.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chris Field, director of Stanford’s Woods Institute for the Environment, said the federal government is forfeiting leadership and future economic opportunities by not attending or taking action on climate. But, he said, non-nation actors do matter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are critically important roles for states and companies and communities and even individuals. The whole thing is going to be successful only if we can figure out a way to get everybody moving in the same direction,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s consistency, despite which political party has held the governor’s office, has been very important in moving the climate needle, Field said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gov. Newsom has already signed even more agreements while in Brazil. One is with Colombia, to address, among other things, the potent greenhouse gas methane. And another is with Nigeria, to help increase the adoption of electric vehicles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state’s representation at COP comes as President Trump has rolled back national climate policies. And, for the second time, the U.S. began the process of removing itself from the Paris agreement, which aims to limit global warming.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"headTitle": "Want to Electrify Your Home? Buy a Heat Pump? It’s Go Time | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>Federal tax credits for various home electrification upgrades will be expiring on Dec. 31. If you’re among the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1991905/dont-think-heat-pumps-are-sexy-time-to-listen-to-this-slow-jam\">heat-pump\u003c/a> or EV-car-charger curious, read on for how to take advantage of the savings that are disappearing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Biden administration put these credits in play with the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, its signature climate policy. The goal was to encourage homeowners to replace gas appliances with electric ones, which can have higher upfront price tags.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When the Trump administration pushed through the expansive legislative package, H.R. 1 last summer, the “Big Beautiful Bill” moved up the expiration date of many of the credits for heat pumps, solar and batteries, electrical panel upgrades, and more from 2032 to the end of this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Using gas as a fuel, in appliances like furnaces and water heaters, leads to more planet-warming emissions than using electricity, which instead powers up on California’s greening grid. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1995336/heres-what-happened-when-scientists-tested-the-air-with-my-gas-stove-on\">Gas appliances can also pollute the air inside your home.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California also offers state incentive programs for specific regions and households, which your contractor can usually apply for on your behalf. You can enter your location and other information into \u003ca href=\"https://www.switchison.org/ca\">the Switch Is On\u003c/a> (check out their product and vetted vendor pages) and \u003ca href=\"https://homes.rewiringamerica.org/\">Rewiring America\u003c/a> (they have a “savings calculator”) to get a sense of existing opportunities and find a contractor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1996550\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1996550 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-15-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-15-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-15-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-15-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-15-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-15-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-15-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-15-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ivan Israel Amezcua (left) and Ramon Heredia adjust their heat pump water heater in their all-electric home in Richmond on March 21, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>One of the biggest is \u003ca href=\"https://techcleanca.com/\">TECH Clean California\u003c/a>, which can cut thousands of dollars off the upfront cost of installing electric heat pump water heaters or heat pump HVAC systems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Funds are limited and awarded on a first-come, first-served basis, so it’s worth checking soon — reservations open periodically and often fill up within a few months.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Jump to:\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What federal tax incentives expire on Dec. 31, 2025?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#Upto2000offnewheatpumpinstallations\">Up to $2,000 off new heat pump installations\u003cbr>\n\u003c/a>\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"#Upto600offelectricalpanelupgrades\">Up to $600 off electrical panel upgrades\u003cbr>\n\u003c/a>\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"#Upto1200offhomeweatherization\">Up to $1,200 off home weatherization\u003cbr>\n\u003c/a>\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"#Upto150onahomeenergyaudit\">Up to $150 on a ‘home energy audit’\u003cbr>\n\u003c/a>\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"#30offsolarpanelsgeothermalheatpumpssolarwaterheatersandbackupbatteries\">30% off solar panels, geothermal heat pumps, solar water heaters and back-up batteries\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Which federal credits can I still get after Dec. 31, 2025?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#Upto1000offEVchargerinstallation\">Up to $1,000 off EV charger installation\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What federal tax incentives expire on Dec. 31, 2025?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003ca id=\"Upto2000offnewheatpumpinstallations\">\u003c/a>Up to $2,000 off new heat pump installations\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A heat pump can warm or cool a home, and a heat pump water heater warms water. The technology has been around for decades: most refrigerators are heat pumps. The appliances work by capturing heat and moving it to where it’s needed to do its job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Heat pumps provide heating and cooling in one appliance,” said Laura Wilson, director of marketing for \u003ca href=\"https://www.switchison.org/ca\">The Switch Is On\u003c/a>, a website and campaign that educates and helps homeowners transition to electric appliances.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1981514\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1981514 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/02/RS60062_030_KQED_HomeElectrificationOakland_11072022-qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/02/RS60062_030_KQED_HomeElectrificationOakland_11072022-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/02/RS60062_030_KQED_HomeElectrificationOakland_11072022-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/02/RS60062_030_KQED_HomeElectrificationOakland_11072022-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/02/RS60062_030_KQED_HomeElectrificationOakland_11072022-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/02/RS60062_030_KQED_HomeElectrificationOakland_11072022-qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/02/RS60062_030_KQED_HomeElectrificationOakland_11072022-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mark Hall holds a phone with a photo of Cheryl Ajirotutu’s attic in Oakland. Her heat pump connects to ducts in her attic and then various rooms in her home. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Heat pumps are far more efficient than gas furnaces and can \u003ca href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421522000386\">significantly cut\u003c/a> a home’s carbon pollution as compared to gas furnaces.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Details: \u003c/strong>These \u003ca href=\"https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/home-energy-tax-credits\">federal tax breaks\u003c/a> can get you 30% off of heat pump installation (labor and equipment) up to $2,000, and there are no income limitations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003ca id=\"Upto600offelectricalpanelupgrades\">\u003c/a>Up to $600 off electrical panel upgrades\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some people may want to increase the size of their electrical panels as they electrify their homes, but this can be unnecessary, so talk to a trusted electrician.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Details: \u003c/strong>You can get 30% off the total cost up to $600.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003ca id=\"Upto1200offhomeweatherization\">\u003c/a>Up to $1,200 off home weatherization\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Weatherization — insulation, sealing cracks, upgrading windows and doors — helps keep your home warm in the winter and cool in the summer, and lowers monthly electricity bills.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1999143\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1999143 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/241113-EcoBlockFollowup-05-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/241113-EcoBlockFollowup-05-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/241113-EcoBlockFollowup-05-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/241113-EcoBlockFollowup-05-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/241113-EcoBlockFollowup-05-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Patched holes awaiting new paint cover Nick Corlett’s kitchen wall in Oakland on Nov. 13, 2024. Contractors drilled the holes to blow in insulation. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Details: \u003c/strong>People can get 30% off of equipment (not labor) up to:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>$1,200 for insulation and air sealing\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>$500 for exterior doors (limit $250 per door)\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>$600 for exterior windows and skylights\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>If you’re both weatherizing and upgrading your panel, the total cost cap is $1,200.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003ca id=\"Upto150onahomeenergyaudit\">\u003c/a>Up to $150 on a ‘home energy audit’\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A building energy audit is like a “physical for your home,” said Zach Pierce, head of policy at electrification nonprofit Rewiring America. Contractors take a comprehensive look at home energy use, find leaks, and recommend improvements.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Details: \u003c/strong>People can get up to $150 back.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003ca id=\"30offsolarpanelsgeothermalheatpumpssolarwaterheatersandbackupbatteries\">\u003c/a>30% off solar panels, geothermal heat pumps, solar water heaters and back-up batteries\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This category includes rooftop solar panels and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1997918/forget-rooftops-bay-area-residents-are-plugging-solar-into-the-wall\">plug-in solar\u003c/a>, which allow you to generate some of your own energy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1996551\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1996551\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-20-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-20-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-20-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-20-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-20-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-20-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-20-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-20-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An aerial view of Ramon Heredia and Ivan Israel Amezcua’s home and solar panels in Richmond on March 21, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Back-up batteries store electricity either from the grid or solar panels. You can use that energy to power your home when the power goes out, or in the case of solar panels, at night when your solar panels are not generating electricity. Batteries must store at least three kilowatt-hours, which could power a home anywhere from 1–6 hours, to qualify.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Geothermal heat pumps heat and cool homes through a loop of piping buried underground or submerged in water, like a pond. Liquid circulates through the loop, absorbing heat from the ground in winter to warm your home and releasing heat back into the ground in summer to keep it cool.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A solar water heater uses sunlight to warm water for your home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Details: \u003c/strong>These \u003ca href=\"https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/residential-clean-energy-credit\">federal tax breaks\u003c/a> cover 30% of total costs, without a cap.[aside postID=science_1998951 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/251008-DRONEMARSH-12-BL-KQED.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Need-to-knows:\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>These tax credits reduce the amount of federal income tax you owe; they won’t give you money back beyond that. Rebates reset each year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you used them last year, you can take advantage of them again now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All the work of installation should be done by Dec. 31, 2025; a signed contract for future work won’t cut it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many solar and battery residential contractors are reporting being booked through the end of 2025, said Josh Buswell-Charkow, deputy director at the California Solar and Storage Association.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Which federal credits can I still get after Dec. 31, 2025?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003ca id=\"Upto1000offEVchargerinstallation\">\u003c/a>\u003cstrong>Up to $1,000 off EV charger installation\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you live in what’s considered a \u003ca href=\"https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/3f67d5e82dc64d1589714d5499196d4f/page/Page\">non-urban or low-income community by the Census Bureau\u003c/a>, you’re eligible for 30% off the total cost of installing an electric vehicle charger in your home, with a cap of $1,000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You must buy and install the charger by June 30, 2026, to qualify for that \u003ca href=\"https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/alternative-fuel-vehicle-refueling-property-credit\">federal tax break\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "A suite of federal incentives to help pay for new electric appliances will sunset Dec. 31. Here’s how to take advantage of them while you can.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Federal tax credits for various home electrification upgrades will be expiring on Dec. 31. If you’re among the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1991905/dont-think-heat-pumps-are-sexy-time-to-listen-to-this-slow-jam\">heat-pump\u003c/a> or EV-car-charger curious, read on for how to take advantage of the savings that are disappearing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Biden administration put these credits in play with the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, its signature climate policy. The goal was to encourage homeowners to replace gas appliances with electric ones, which can have higher upfront price tags.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When the Trump administration pushed through the expansive legislative package, H.R. 1 last summer, the “Big Beautiful Bill” moved up the expiration date of many of the credits for heat pumps, solar and batteries, electrical panel upgrades, and more from 2032 to the end of this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Using gas as a fuel, in appliances like furnaces and water heaters, leads to more planet-warming emissions than using electricity, which instead powers up on California’s greening grid. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1995336/heres-what-happened-when-scientists-tested-the-air-with-my-gas-stove-on\">Gas appliances can also pollute the air inside your home.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California also offers state incentive programs for specific regions and households, which your contractor can usually apply for on your behalf. You can enter your location and other information into \u003ca href=\"https://www.switchison.org/ca\">the Switch Is On\u003c/a> (check out their product and vetted vendor pages) and \u003ca href=\"https://homes.rewiringamerica.org/\">Rewiring America\u003c/a> (they have a “savings calculator”) to get a sense of existing opportunities and find a contractor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1996550\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1996550 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-15-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-15-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-15-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-15-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-15-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-15-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-15-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-15-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ivan Israel Amezcua (left) and Ramon Heredia adjust their heat pump water heater in their all-electric home in Richmond on March 21, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>One of the biggest is \u003ca href=\"https://techcleanca.com/\">TECH Clean California\u003c/a>, which can cut thousands of dollars off the upfront cost of installing electric heat pump water heaters or heat pump HVAC systems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Funds are limited and awarded on a first-come, first-served basis, so it’s worth checking soon — reservations open periodically and often fill up within a few months.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Jump to:\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What federal tax incentives expire on Dec. 31, 2025?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#Upto2000offnewheatpumpinstallations\">Up to $2,000 off new heat pump installations\u003cbr>\n\u003c/a>\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"#Upto600offelectricalpanelupgrades\">Up to $600 off electrical panel upgrades\u003cbr>\n\u003c/a>\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"#Upto1200offhomeweatherization\">Up to $1,200 off home weatherization\u003cbr>\n\u003c/a>\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"#Upto150onahomeenergyaudit\">Up to $150 on a ‘home energy audit’\u003cbr>\n\u003c/a>\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"#30offsolarpanelsgeothermalheatpumpssolarwaterheatersandbackupbatteries\">30% off solar panels, geothermal heat pumps, solar water heaters and back-up batteries\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Which federal credits can I still get after Dec. 31, 2025?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#Upto1000offEVchargerinstallation\">Up to $1,000 off EV charger installation\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What federal tax incentives expire on Dec. 31, 2025?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003ca id=\"Upto2000offnewheatpumpinstallations\">\u003c/a>Up to $2,000 off new heat pump installations\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A heat pump can warm or cool a home, and a heat pump water heater warms water. The technology has been around for decades: most refrigerators are heat pumps. The appliances work by capturing heat and moving it to where it’s needed to do its job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Heat pumps provide heating and cooling in one appliance,” said Laura Wilson, director of marketing for \u003ca href=\"https://www.switchison.org/ca\">The Switch Is On\u003c/a>, a website and campaign that educates and helps homeowners transition to electric appliances.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1981514\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1981514 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/02/RS60062_030_KQED_HomeElectrificationOakland_11072022-qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/02/RS60062_030_KQED_HomeElectrificationOakland_11072022-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/02/RS60062_030_KQED_HomeElectrificationOakland_11072022-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/02/RS60062_030_KQED_HomeElectrificationOakland_11072022-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/02/RS60062_030_KQED_HomeElectrificationOakland_11072022-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/02/RS60062_030_KQED_HomeElectrificationOakland_11072022-qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/02/RS60062_030_KQED_HomeElectrificationOakland_11072022-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mark Hall holds a phone with a photo of Cheryl Ajirotutu’s attic in Oakland. Her heat pump connects to ducts in her attic and then various rooms in her home. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Heat pumps are far more efficient than gas furnaces and can \u003ca href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421522000386\">significantly cut\u003c/a> a home’s carbon pollution as compared to gas furnaces.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Details: \u003c/strong>These \u003ca href=\"https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/home-energy-tax-credits\">federal tax breaks\u003c/a> can get you 30% off of heat pump installation (labor and equipment) up to $2,000, and there are no income limitations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003ca id=\"Upto600offelectricalpanelupgrades\">\u003c/a>Up to $600 off electrical panel upgrades\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some people may want to increase the size of their electrical panels as they electrify their homes, but this can be unnecessary, so talk to a trusted electrician.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Details: \u003c/strong>You can get 30% off the total cost up to $600.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003ca id=\"Upto1200offhomeweatherization\">\u003c/a>Up to $1,200 off home weatherization\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Weatherization — insulation, sealing cracks, upgrading windows and doors — helps keep your home warm in the winter and cool in the summer, and lowers monthly electricity bills.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1999143\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1999143 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/241113-EcoBlockFollowup-05-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/241113-EcoBlockFollowup-05-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/241113-EcoBlockFollowup-05-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/241113-EcoBlockFollowup-05-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/241113-EcoBlockFollowup-05-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Patched holes awaiting new paint cover Nick Corlett’s kitchen wall in Oakland on Nov. 13, 2024. Contractors drilled the holes to blow in insulation. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Details: \u003c/strong>People can get 30% off of equipment (not labor) up to:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>$1,200 for insulation and air sealing\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>$500 for exterior doors (limit $250 per door)\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>$600 for exterior windows and skylights\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>If you’re both weatherizing and upgrading your panel, the total cost cap is $1,200.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003ca id=\"Upto150onahomeenergyaudit\">\u003c/a>Up to $150 on a ‘home energy audit’\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A building energy audit is like a “physical for your home,” said Zach Pierce, head of policy at electrification nonprofit Rewiring America. Contractors take a comprehensive look at home energy use, find leaks, and recommend improvements.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Details: \u003c/strong>People can get up to $150 back.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003ca id=\"30offsolarpanelsgeothermalheatpumpssolarwaterheatersandbackupbatteries\">\u003c/a>30% off solar panels, geothermal heat pumps, solar water heaters and back-up batteries\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This category includes rooftop solar panels and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1997918/forget-rooftops-bay-area-residents-are-plugging-solar-into-the-wall\">plug-in solar\u003c/a>, which allow you to generate some of your own energy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1996551\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1996551\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-20-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-20-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-20-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-20-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-20-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-20-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-20-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-20-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An aerial view of Ramon Heredia and Ivan Israel Amezcua’s home and solar panels in Richmond on March 21, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Back-up batteries store electricity either from the grid or solar panels. You can use that energy to power your home when the power goes out, or in the case of solar panels, at night when your solar panels are not generating electricity. Batteries must store at least three kilowatt-hours, which could power a home anywhere from 1–6 hours, to qualify.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Geothermal heat pumps heat and cool homes through a loop of piping buried underground or submerged in water, like a pond. Liquid circulates through the loop, absorbing heat from the ground in winter to warm your home and releasing heat back into the ground in summer to keep it cool.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A solar water heater uses sunlight to warm water for your home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Details: \u003c/strong>These \u003ca href=\"https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/residential-clean-energy-credit\">federal tax breaks\u003c/a> cover 30% of total costs, without a cap.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Need-to-knows:\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>These tax credits reduce the amount of federal income tax you owe; they won’t give you money back beyond that. Rebates reset each year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you used them last year, you can take advantage of them again now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All the work of installation should be done by Dec. 31, 2025; a signed contract for future work won’t cut it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many solar and battery residential contractors are reporting being booked through the end of 2025, said Josh Buswell-Charkow, deputy director at the California Solar and Storage Association.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Which federal credits can I still get after Dec. 31, 2025?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003ca id=\"Upto1000offEVchargerinstallation\">\u003c/a>\u003cstrong>Up to $1,000 off EV charger installation\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you live in what’s considered a \u003ca href=\"https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/3f67d5e82dc64d1589714d5499196d4f/page/Page\">non-urban or low-income community by the Census Bureau\u003c/a>, you’re eligible for 30% off the total cost of installing an electric vehicle charger in your home, with a cap of $1,000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You must buy and install the charger by June 30, 2026, to qualify for that \u003ca href=\"https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/alternative-fuel-vehicle-refueling-property-credit\">federal tax break\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Forget Rooftops — Bay Area Residents Are Plugging Solar Into the Wall",
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"content": "\u003cp>On a sunny, early summer morning, Matthew Milner waited in his driveway in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/berkeley\">Berkeley\u003c/a> hills. It was his solar install day, and he was excited. He greeted the installers and walked them around to the back of his house. But instead of pointing to his roof, he pointed to his wooden backyard fence. That is where these solar panels would go, tilted, with their bottom edge on the ground, and top leaning against the fence’s wooden planks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The installation wrapped up in two hours, demanded minimal paperwork, and damaged Milner’s wallet only marginally, as far as solar installations go. By noon, he plugged in an electrical cord that snaked from the panels into an outlet on the outside of his house. Immediately, solar power coursed toward his electrical panel and then flowed back through his home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With that, he was offsetting his home’s energy use.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Milner is one of the solar-curious, who are testing the waters by purchasing a small, portable, plug-in display.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’d wanted to get rooftop solar, but it’s so expensive,” said Milner, a scientist. The price of rooftop solar in California ranges widely and can cost tens of thousands of dollars. “This allows us to dip our toe in a little bit without having a huge financial cost and see how it works for us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Plug-in solar, also called balcony solar, is a new take on an old technology. For years, panels that turn sunshine into electricity have been bolted onto rooftops and largely limited to people who own homes, have well-maintained roofs in prime positions, and a decent amount of cash or good credit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1997036\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1997036\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-DIPTYCH-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2500\" height=\"830\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-DIPTYCH-02-KQED.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-DIPTYCH-02-KQED-800x266.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-DIPTYCH-02-KQED-1020x339.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-DIPTYCH-02-KQED-160x53.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-DIPTYCH-02-KQED-768x255.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-DIPTYCH-02-KQED-1536x510.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-DIPTYCH-02-KQED-2048x680.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-DIPTYCH-02-KQED-1920x637.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rupert Mayer walks Matthew Milner through using an app that monitors the power produced by the newly installed solar panels at Milner’s home in Kensington on May 23, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But plug-and-play solar can hang from an apartment balcony, out a window, or be tented in the backyard — the smaller, more affordable displays offer an attractive alternative for renters and people with no roof at all. They may even appeal to Californians who would have bought rooftop solar but are hesitant after state regulators reduced how much someone can earn by selling excess power back to the grid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For a long time, the economics of rooftop solar penciled out, said Bernadette del Chiaro, senior vice president for California at Environmental Working Group, who headed California’s trade association for rooftop solar for years. “I think it’s very different now for a consumer.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On top of this, Congress’s recent budget bill reduced or eliminated solar tax credits.[aside postID=science_1996563 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-04-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg']Now, del Chiaro said, consumers are more likely to say: “‘I’m just going to install my own system, hang it on my own balcony and PG&E never needs to know.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Californians, struggling with soaring electricity bills, are eager to adopt the technology.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Advocates believe the state’s market has massive potential. They’re motivated by two examples: Utah, which recently passed legislation allowing the technology to take off once additional safety measures are implemented, and Germany, where millions of solar panels dot balconies across the country.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there are clear hurdles, and fuzzy ones too. State regulators and utility PG&E said its customers must register the technology before they plug it in. But small solar advocates argue the registration process should be faster for these systems than it is for rooftop solar. It’s time-consuming, costly, and exactly the type of bureaucracy they’re trying to cut out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A nonprofit called \u003ca href=\"https://www.brightsaver.org/\">Bright Saver\u003c/a> installed Milner’s system — it’s one of the many start-ups championing the small arrays. The organization is hoping to create a movement and plays an umbrella role for companies, policymakers and safety certification organizations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bright Saver’s first product is two solar panels and accessories, which can power about a fifth of the average Californian’s energy needs: covering lights and small electronics, maybe even an efficient refrigerator. It can produce 800 watts and costs $2100, but the founders think the costs will drop in the coming years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1997028\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1997028\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-08-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-08-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-08-KQED-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-08-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-08-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-08-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-08-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-08-KQED-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rupert Mayer tests the newly installed solar panels at Matthew Milner’s home in Kensington on May 23, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The organization estimates it will take Milner, who purchased his system at a discounted rate of $1700, four to five years to make back the upfront investment in the panels through bill savings. That’s about \u003ca href=\"https://www.woodmac.com/press-releases/nem-3.0-pd-will-cut-california-solar-market-in-half-by-2024/\">three \u003c/a>times faster than how long it takes to recoup the investment from rooftop solar.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Milner was motivated to try out solar because, as a father of two young kids, he wants to take action on climate change. And like most Californians, his energy bills are high, about $75 to $80 per month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It fixes our energy cost a little bit, because rates keep rising,” Milner said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>As easy as buying an IKEA-style table\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Pranav Myana, 21-year-old founder of \u003ca href=\"https://zoltux.com/\">Zoltux\u003c/a>, an energy company based in San Francisco, is working on his own version of this technology: a shippable set of two lightweight panels, just millimeters thick, together about the size of a medium dining room table top. Myana said you can assemble it in five minutes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He calls it an “instant solar pod” and is pricing it at $1199, which he estimates will pay for itself in three to four years. The company is taking pre-orders now and plans to ship the product in early fall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Myana was inspired to build Zoltux after visiting his family’s homeland in India, a town called Sircilla, where the main industry is weaving with electric looms. When power became expensive and inconsistent, mounting debts led to many suicides that, Myana said, included some of his family members.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1997032\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1997032\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-DIPTYCH-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2500\" height=\"825\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-DIPTYCH-01-KQED.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-DIPTYCH-01-KQED-800x264.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-DIPTYCH-01-KQED-1020x337.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-DIPTYCH-01-KQED-160x53.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-DIPTYCH-01-KQED-768x253.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-DIPTYCH-01-KQED-1536x507.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-DIPTYCH-01-KQED-2048x676.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-DIPTYCH-01-KQED-1920x634.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rupert Mayer installs power inverters on the solar panels at Matthew Milner’s home in Kensington on May 23, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It showed me just how fundamental energy was to everything we do,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some companies like Bright Saver employ staff to install their panels, but a goal is to cut out professionals altogether. That’s because \u003ca href=\"https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/8/2132\">roughly half\u003c/a> the price of getting solar is in labor and “soft costs” like permitting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The dream is for plug-in solar to be purchased off the shelf and set up by the customer, IKEA-style.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Already, plug-in solar companies are working to add a small battery to their setups to gather extra power, store it and deploy it when the sun goes down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But plug-in solar has risks, like most appliances. Without safety measures or proper equipment, wires could overheat and ignite a fire, or the systems could send power back to the grid when there’s a power outage, endangering a line worker sent out to make repairs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Start-ups address these by plugging into a dedicated circuit, using a “smart plug” that can shut the solar panels off if there’s excessive current on the system, or a sensor to shut it off when the larger grid goes down.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Why isn’t plug-in solar already everywhere?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>For one thing, there’s no safety standard for a complete plug-in solar system. Safety standards are typically shown by a “UL” stamp, or similar marking, on the back of products, indicating they’ve met requirements set by Underwriters Laboratories, an independent testing organization.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These exist for individual parts of the system only, which some companies assemble and view as sufficiently safe. UL said they are working on a safety standard for a full system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1997035\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1997035\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-13-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-13-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-13-KQED-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-13-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-13-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-13-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-13-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-13-KQED-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rupert Mayer installs power inverters on the solar panels at Matthew Milner’s home in Kensington on May 23, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Plug-in solar does not fit easily into layers of national, state, and local electric code and operates in a regulatory gray area in California, where utilities want customers to register the product as they would a rooftop system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s these big gaps where it’s certainly not that you can’t do this, but it’s also not clear that you can absolutely do this,” without registering the system, said Kevin Chou, a co-founder of Bright Saver.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To stay within California\u003ca href=\"https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/Rule21/\"> rules\u003c/a> and skirt filling out an interconnection agreement with utilities, Bright Saver’s technology prevents excess power from feeding back into the grid.[aside postID=news_11957170 hero='https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS681_IMG_0523-1020x765.jpg']PG&E representatives said registration costs roughly $100 to $800 and shouldn’t take much time at all: just an hour if you have all your documents ready to go, with a standard approval time of three days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Spokesperson Paul Doherty said the utility “supports new technology to make interconnecting [distributed energy resources like plug-in solar] to the utility grid as easy as possible,” but added that “it is essential” for customers to \u003ca href=\"https://www.yourprojects-pge.com/login\">apply\u003c/a> for an interconnection agreement, citing safety and reliability.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Public Utility Commission also requires an interconnection agreement to connect to the state’s grid, even for systems with UL-certified components, like an inverter. “UL certification ensures the inverter meets safety standards, but it does not eliminate the need for interconnection review and approval,” the agency said in statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They tell you you should, but they do not provide a practical means for it,” said Rupert Mayer, another Bright Saver co-founder. In Germany, customers register their name, address, system size and meter number, he added. It allows a utility to plan its electric load for a neighborhood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That is legitimate for the power company to want to know. But if you require someone who plugs in a single solar panel to go through the whole very bureaucratic interconnection process that they would need to go with rooftop solar,” Mayer said, as is the current case in California, “you basically make it prohibitive and put up an unnecessary hurdle.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As his organization has grown more aware of PG&E’s interpretation of state rules, Mayer said Bright Saver has paused installations like Milner’s, at least in California, and is focused on education instead.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A breakthrough in Utah, inspired by Germany\u003cstrong>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>One way to cut through the gray areas surrounding rooftop solar is to allow it, very clearly, in writing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s what Utah state Rep. \u003ca href=\"https://house.utleg.gov/rep/WARDR/\">Raymond Ward\u003c/a> did.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ward wrote legislation to allow balcony solar after reading an \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/29/business/germany-solar-panels-climate-change.html\">article\u003c/a> about its ubiquity abroad.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m interested in anything that helps move towards more abundant energy,” said Ward, a Republican. “Anything that moves towards more clean power, with how that relates to the climate, is important to me.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He championed \u003ca href=\"https://le.utah.gov/~2025/bills/static/HB0340.html\">legislation\u003c/a> allowing people to plug in small solar arrays without a permit or utility fee, so long as they comply with the national electric code and third-party product safety standards. Products with certified components are already \u003ca href=\"https://us.ecoflow.com/products/stream-microinverter?variant=54376091975753\">on the market\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1997025\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1997025\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-05-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-05-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-05-KQED-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-05-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-05-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-05-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-05-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-05-KQED-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Matthew Milner in his backyard in Kensington on May 23, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The bill passed Utah’s state legislature with unanimous, bipartisan support in March. It was quickly signed into law by Republican Gov. Spencer Cox.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It has turned out to be pretty important, right? A lot of people were watching,” Ward said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Christian Ofenheusle is one of the architects of Germany’s plug-in solar movement. When he started in 2017, he estimated there were around 40,000 plug-in solar installations. He struggled with many of the problems facing plug-in solar in the U.S. now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But movement leaders have made the process of getting plug-in solar straightforward through concerted effort. The product is even \u003ca href=\"https://www.pv-magazine.com/2025/06/25/ikea-begins-offering-balcony-solar-kits/#:~:text=Swedish%20furniture%20retailer%20Ikea%20is,vary%20by%20capacity%20and%20configuration.\">on sale at IKEA\u003c/a>. Now, there are one million \u003ca href=\"https://www.deutschland.de/en/news/one-million-balcony-solar-systems-in-germany\">documented\u003c/a>, and several million more running without formally registering with the government, Ofenheusle said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Collectively, those panels generate the same amount of electricity as a small power plant that did not have to be built.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But even if there is widespread adoption of this technology, in terms of overall power needs, “balcony solar is a small, small piece” of overall demand, cautioned Dan Kammen, an energy professor at UC Berkeley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, Kammen said plug-in solar matters, in part because “every bit helps.” And also, because panels hanging off your balcony are a talking point.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A lot of what we do is not just signaling to others, but it’s signaling to ourselves,” he said. And it’s a way to take tangible action.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The more you learn about solar panels for your home purchases, the more that you can translate that into the business world. And that education is invaluable,” Kammen said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"title": "Forget Rooftops — Bay Area Residents Are Plugging Solar Into the Wall | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>On a sunny, early summer morning, Matthew Milner waited in his driveway in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/berkeley\">Berkeley\u003c/a> hills. It was his solar install day, and he was excited. He greeted the installers and walked them around to the back of his house. But instead of pointing to his roof, he pointed to his wooden backyard fence. That is where these solar panels would go, tilted, with their bottom edge on the ground, and top leaning against the fence’s wooden planks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The installation wrapped up in two hours, demanded minimal paperwork, and damaged Milner’s wallet only marginally, as far as solar installations go. By noon, he plugged in an electrical cord that snaked from the panels into an outlet on the outside of his house. Immediately, solar power coursed toward his electrical panel and then flowed back through his home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With that, he was offsetting his home’s energy use.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Milner is one of the solar-curious, who are testing the waters by purchasing a small, portable, plug-in display.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’d wanted to get rooftop solar, but it’s so expensive,” said Milner, a scientist. The price of rooftop solar in California ranges widely and can cost tens of thousands of dollars. “This allows us to dip our toe in a little bit without having a huge financial cost and see how it works for us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Plug-in solar, also called balcony solar, is a new take on an old technology. For years, panels that turn sunshine into electricity have been bolted onto rooftops and largely limited to people who own homes, have well-maintained roofs in prime positions, and a decent amount of cash or good credit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1997036\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1997036\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-DIPTYCH-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2500\" height=\"830\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-DIPTYCH-02-KQED.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-DIPTYCH-02-KQED-800x266.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-DIPTYCH-02-KQED-1020x339.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-DIPTYCH-02-KQED-160x53.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-DIPTYCH-02-KQED-768x255.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-DIPTYCH-02-KQED-1536x510.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-DIPTYCH-02-KQED-2048x680.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-DIPTYCH-02-KQED-1920x637.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rupert Mayer walks Matthew Milner through using an app that monitors the power produced by the newly installed solar panels at Milner’s home in Kensington on May 23, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But plug-and-play solar can hang from an apartment balcony, out a window, or be tented in the backyard — the smaller, more affordable displays offer an attractive alternative for renters and people with no roof at all. They may even appeal to Californians who would have bought rooftop solar but are hesitant after state regulators reduced how much someone can earn by selling excess power back to the grid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For a long time, the economics of rooftop solar penciled out, said Bernadette del Chiaro, senior vice president for California at Environmental Working Group, who headed California’s trade association for rooftop solar for years. “I think it’s very different now for a consumer.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On top of this, Congress’s recent budget bill reduced or eliminated solar tax credits.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Now, del Chiaro said, consumers are more likely to say: “‘I’m just going to install my own system, hang it on my own balcony and PG&E never needs to know.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Californians, struggling with soaring electricity bills, are eager to adopt the technology.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Advocates believe the state’s market has massive potential. They’re motivated by two examples: Utah, which recently passed legislation allowing the technology to take off once additional safety measures are implemented, and Germany, where millions of solar panels dot balconies across the country.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there are clear hurdles, and fuzzy ones too. State regulators and utility PG&E said its customers must register the technology before they plug it in. But small solar advocates argue the registration process should be faster for these systems than it is for rooftop solar. It’s time-consuming, costly, and exactly the type of bureaucracy they’re trying to cut out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A nonprofit called \u003ca href=\"https://www.brightsaver.org/\">Bright Saver\u003c/a> installed Milner’s system — it’s one of the many start-ups championing the small arrays. The organization is hoping to create a movement and plays an umbrella role for companies, policymakers and safety certification organizations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bright Saver’s first product is two solar panels and accessories, which can power about a fifth of the average Californian’s energy needs: covering lights and small electronics, maybe even an efficient refrigerator. It can produce 800 watts and costs $2100, but the founders think the costs will drop in the coming years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1997028\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1997028\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-08-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-08-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-08-KQED-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-08-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-08-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-08-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-08-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-08-KQED-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rupert Mayer tests the newly installed solar panels at Matthew Milner’s home in Kensington on May 23, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The organization estimates it will take Milner, who purchased his system at a discounted rate of $1700, four to five years to make back the upfront investment in the panels through bill savings. That’s about \u003ca href=\"https://www.woodmac.com/press-releases/nem-3.0-pd-will-cut-california-solar-market-in-half-by-2024/\">three \u003c/a>times faster than how long it takes to recoup the investment from rooftop solar.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Milner was motivated to try out solar because, as a father of two young kids, he wants to take action on climate change. And like most Californians, his energy bills are high, about $75 to $80 per month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It fixes our energy cost a little bit, because rates keep rising,” Milner said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>As easy as buying an IKEA-style table\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Pranav Myana, 21-year-old founder of \u003ca href=\"https://zoltux.com/\">Zoltux\u003c/a>, an energy company based in San Francisco, is working on his own version of this technology: a shippable set of two lightweight panels, just millimeters thick, together about the size of a medium dining room table top. Myana said you can assemble it in five minutes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He calls it an “instant solar pod” and is pricing it at $1199, which he estimates will pay for itself in three to four years. The company is taking pre-orders now and plans to ship the product in early fall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Myana was inspired to build Zoltux after visiting his family’s homeland in India, a town called Sircilla, where the main industry is weaving with electric looms. When power became expensive and inconsistent, mounting debts led to many suicides that, Myana said, included some of his family members.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1997032\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1997032\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-DIPTYCH-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2500\" height=\"825\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-DIPTYCH-01-KQED.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-DIPTYCH-01-KQED-800x264.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-DIPTYCH-01-KQED-1020x337.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-DIPTYCH-01-KQED-160x53.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-DIPTYCH-01-KQED-768x253.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-DIPTYCH-01-KQED-1536x507.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-DIPTYCH-01-KQED-2048x676.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-DIPTYCH-01-KQED-1920x634.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rupert Mayer installs power inverters on the solar panels at Matthew Milner’s home in Kensington on May 23, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It showed me just how fundamental energy was to everything we do,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some companies like Bright Saver employ staff to install their panels, but a goal is to cut out professionals altogether. That’s because \u003ca href=\"https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/8/2132\">roughly half\u003c/a> the price of getting solar is in labor and “soft costs” like permitting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The dream is for plug-in solar to be purchased off the shelf and set up by the customer, IKEA-style.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Already, plug-in solar companies are working to add a small battery to their setups to gather extra power, store it and deploy it when the sun goes down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But plug-in solar has risks, like most appliances. Without safety measures or proper equipment, wires could overheat and ignite a fire, or the systems could send power back to the grid when there’s a power outage, endangering a line worker sent out to make repairs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Start-ups address these by plugging into a dedicated circuit, using a “smart plug” that can shut the solar panels off if there’s excessive current on the system, or a sensor to shut it off when the larger grid goes down.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Why isn’t plug-in solar already everywhere?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>For one thing, there’s no safety standard for a complete plug-in solar system. Safety standards are typically shown by a “UL” stamp, or similar marking, on the back of products, indicating they’ve met requirements set by Underwriters Laboratories, an independent testing organization.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These exist for individual parts of the system only, which some companies assemble and view as sufficiently safe. UL said they are working on a safety standard for a full system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1997035\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1997035\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-13-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-13-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-13-KQED-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-13-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-13-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-13-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-13-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-13-KQED-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rupert Mayer installs power inverters on the solar panels at Matthew Milner’s home in Kensington on May 23, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Plug-in solar does not fit easily into layers of national, state, and local electric code and operates in a regulatory gray area in California, where utilities want customers to register the product as they would a rooftop system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s these big gaps where it’s certainly not that you can’t do this, but it’s also not clear that you can absolutely do this,” without registering the system, said Kevin Chou, a co-founder of Bright Saver.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To stay within California\u003ca href=\"https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/Rule21/\"> rules\u003c/a> and skirt filling out an interconnection agreement with utilities, Bright Saver’s technology prevents excess power from feeding back into the grid.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>PG&E representatives said registration costs roughly $100 to $800 and shouldn’t take much time at all: just an hour if you have all your documents ready to go, with a standard approval time of three days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Spokesperson Paul Doherty said the utility “supports new technology to make interconnecting [distributed energy resources like plug-in solar] to the utility grid as easy as possible,” but added that “it is essential” for customers to \u003ca href=\"https://www.yourprojects-pge.com/login\">apply\u003c/a> for an interconnection agreement, citing safety and reliability.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Public Utility Commission also requires an interconnection agreement to connect to the state’s grid, even for systems with UL-certified components, like an inverter. “UL certification ensures the inverter meets safety standards, but it does not eliminate the need for interconnection review and approval,” the agency said in statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They tell you you should, but they do not provide a practical means for it,” said Rupert Mayer, another Bright Saver co-founder. In Germany, customers register their name, address, system size and meter number, he added. It allows a utility to plan its electric load for a neighborhood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That is legitimate for the power company to want to know. But if you require someone who plugs in a single solar panel to go through the whole very bureaucratic interconnection process that they would need to go with rooftop solar,” Mayer said, as is the current case in California, “you basically make it prohibitive and put up an unnecessary hurdle.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As his organization has grown more aware of PG&E’s interpretation of state rules, Mayer said Bright Saver has paused installations like Milner’s, at least in California, and is focused on education instead.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A breakthrough in Utah, inspired by Germany\u003cstrong>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>One way to cut through the gray areas surrounding rooftop solar is to allow it, very clearly, in writing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s what Utah state Rep. \u003ca href=\"https://house.utleg.gov/rep/WARDR/\">Raymond Ward\u003c/a> did.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ward wrote legislation to allow balcony solar after reading an \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/29/business/germany-solar-panels-climate-change.html\">article\u003c/a> about its ubiquity abroad.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m interested in anything that helps move towards more abundant energy,” said Ward, a Republican. “Anything that moves towards more clean power, with how that relates to the climate, is important to me.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He championed \u003ca href=\"https://le.utah.gov/~2025/bills/static/HB0340.html\">legislation\u003c/a> allowing people to plug in small solar arrays without a permit or utility fee, so long as they comply with the national electric code and third-party product safety standards. Products with certified components are already \u003ca href=\"https://us.ecoflow.com/products/stream-microinverter?variant=54376091975753\">on the market\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1997025\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1997025\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-05-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-05-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-05-KQED-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-05-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-05-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-05-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-05-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-05-KQED-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Matthew Milner in his backyard in Kensington on May 23, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The bill passed Utah’s state legislature with unanimous, bipartisan support in March. It was quickly signed into law by Republican Gov. Spencer Cox.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It has turned out to be pretty important, right? A lot of people were watching,” Ward said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Christian Ofenheusle is one of the architects of Germany’s plug-in solar movement. When he started in 2017, he estimated there were around 40,000 plug-in solar installations. He struggled with many of the problems facing plug-in solar in the U.S. now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But movement leaders have made the process of getting plug-in solar straightforward through concerted effort. The product is even \u003ca href=\"https://www.pv-magazine.com/2025/06/25/ikea-begins-offering-balcony-solar-kits/#:~:text=Swedish%20furniture%20retailer%20Ikea%20is,vary%20by%20capacity%20and%20configuration.\">on sale at IKEA\u003c/a>. Now, there are one million \u003ca href=\"https://www.deutschland.de/en/news/one-million-balcony-solar-systems-in-germany\">documented\u003c/a>, and several million more running without formally registering with the government, Ofenheusle said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Collectively, those panels generate the same amount of electricity as a small power plant that did not have to be built.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But even if there is widespread adoption of this technology, in terms of overall power needs, “balcony solar is a small, small piece” of overall demand, cautioned Dan Kammen, an energy professor at UC Berkeley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, Kammen said plug-in solar matters, in part because “every bit helps.” And also, because panels hanging off your balcony are a talking point.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A lot of what we do is not just signaling to others, but it’s signaling to ourselves,” he said. And it’s a way to take tangible action.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The more you learn about solar panels for your home purchases, the more that you can translate that into the business world. And that education is invaluable,” Kammen said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "this-oakland-block-tried-to-quit-fossil-fuels-heres-what-they-learned",
"title": "This Oakland Block Tried to Quit Fossil Fuels. Here’s What They Learned",
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"headTitle": "This Oakland Block Tried to Quit Fossil Fuels. Here’s What They Learned | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>Just before the 2019 holiday season, musician Isaac Zones got an \u003ca href=\"https://citris-uc.org/oakland-ecoblock-looking-for-interested-neighborhoods/\">email\u003c/a>, forwarded from a friend. It asked, “Do you and your neighbors want to save money on your energy bills, reduce carbon emissions and survive the next power outage?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His answer was, well, yeah.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Basically, I read it as like free solar for everybody on my block,” Zones said. Zones lives on an East Oakland street lined with century-old single-family Victorians, mid-century, boxy apartment buildings and everything in between.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1984963/electric-avenue-one-oakland-blocks-improbable-journey-to-ditch-gas\">The initiative, headed by researchers at UC Berkeley, invited entire neighborhoods to apply for major upgrades\u003c/a>: energy- and water-efficient appliances, insulation and solar panels, along with a shared back-up battery and microgrid to protect the street from power blackouts. All for free.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In return, the researchers would get to test out a theory: would retrofitting buildings together, all at once, save money by buying in bulk? Would it save time for a contractor to walk from one job across the street to another? Would people even want to sign up?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The project would tackle a significant but overlooked issue: the planet-warming pollution that comes from buildings and the energy they use. In the U.S., that’s roughly \u003ca href=\"https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/commercial-and-residential-sector-emissions\">one-third\u003c/a> of all emissions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A way to cut that pollution is to wean buildings off fossil fuels like natural gas and swap out gas appliances for electric ones. But doing this home by home and business by business is expensive and slow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995537\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995537\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/250126-EcoBlock-16-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/250126-EcoBlock-16-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/250126-EcoBlock-16-BL-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/250126-EcoBlock-16-BL-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/250126-EcoBlock-16-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/250126-EcoBlock-16-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/250126-EcoBlock-16-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/250126-EcoBlock-16-BL-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Therese Peffer, a researcher from UC Berkeley’s California Institute for Energy and Environment CITRIS Climate initiative, helps neighbors plant trees on a block in Oakland on Jan. 26, 2025. The block is part of EcoBlock, a collaborative project bringing together academics, professionals, government agencies, utilities, private donors and residents. The initiative aims to help an entire city block reduce emissions through insulation upgrades, electric appliances and solar panels. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>So researchers at UC Berkeley’s California Institute for Energy and Environment set out to study if there was another way to slash pollution from buildings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They felt there was already enough attention on how to construct new buildings for a warmer world. “New construction is easy, right? It’s sexy and it’s fun, but it’s not where the biggest problem is,” said Therese Peffer, who heads the project.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we’re going to try to really combat climate change, it is looking at the existing buildings in this country,” Peffer said — the millions of offices, warehouses, restaurants and homes we already have.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2019, Peffer and her colleagues at UC Berkeley got a \u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.ca.gov/sites/default/files/2021-05/CEC-500-2020-009-AP.pdf\">$5 million grant\u003c/a> from the state of California to test out a new, block-scale approach.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And Isaac Zones was ready to sign his block up as the guinea pig.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Getting neighbors on board\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Isaac Zones and his wife, Vivian Santana Pacheco, had always cared about the environment, but their passion grew after they had their child, now in elementary school.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We want this world to be a habitable one for him,” Santana Pacheco said. “Already, I feel like we’re behind, and that I’m not doing enough. This feels more tangible than showing up to a protest.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1983903\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1983903\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS67844_20230810-BlossomStreet-13-JY-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS67844_20230810-BlossomStreet-13-JY-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS67844_20230810-BlossomStreet-13-JY-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS67844_20230810-BlossomStreet-13-JY-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS67844_20230810-BlossomStreet-13-JY-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS67844_20230810-BlossomStreet-13-JY-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS67844_20230810-BlossomStreet-13-JY-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS67844_20230810-BlossomStreet-13-JY-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Issac Zones (left) and Vivian Santana-Pacheco (right) stand for a portrait in front of their electric vehicle in Oakland, California, on Aug. 11, 2023. The couple is a part of a group of neighbors in Oakland that are beginning to electrify their home appliances. \u003ccite>(Juliana Yamada/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The pair went door to door, selling neighbors on the project, called “EcoBlock.” The task wasn’t unfamiliar: they’d gone door-knocking after moving to the block almost a decade ago. But that time it was to invite people out for a block party, which has since become an annual tradition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Asking neighbors to come out for a beer is different than asking them to overhaul their largest asset, but Santana Pacheco and Zones had a lot of success.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some residents were immediately game: they wanted air conditioning to deal with California’s increasing heat waves, and they valued how the project prioritized a low and middle-income neighborhood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the end, Santana Pacheco and Zones convinced 15 out of the 25 properties on the block to sign on.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The holdouts\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>So, who didn’t want to be part of EcoBlock?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Steve Johnson lives in a white Victorian that’s been in his family for almost 100 years. He’s a retired contractor and spent decades remodeling his home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m 70 years old. I just didn’t want to go through a lot of new construction all over again because I really don’t need it,” Johnson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995170\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995170\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/11/241113-ECOBLOCKFOLLOWUP-63-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/11/241113-ECOBLOCKFOLLOWUP-63-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/11/241113-ECOBLOCKFOLLOWUP-63-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/11/241113-ECOBLOCKFOLLOWUP-63-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/11/241113-ECOBLOCKFOLLOWUP-63-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/11/241113-ECOBLOCKFOLLOWUP-63-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/11/241113-ECOBLOCKFOLLOWUP-63-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/11/241113-ECOBLOCKFOLLOWUP-63-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Steven Johnson stands in his kitchen in Oakland on Nov. 13, 2024. Johnson decided against participating in the EcoBlock project. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>His energy bills are incredibly low already, and he thinks there are other ways to tackle planet-warming pollution; things like aviation fuel and shipping.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Plus, he isn’t ready to give up all fossil fuels just yet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I just can’t imagine not cooking on gas. And the whole EcoBlock wanted to take away the gas,” Johnson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That was a major goal of the project — weaning homes off natural gas, which is a \u003ca href=\"https://www.epa.gov/gmi/importance-methane#:~:text=Methane%20is%20the%20second%20most,trapping%20heat%20in%20the%20atmosphere.\">powerful climate pollutant\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other people who opted out of the project had done unpermitted work on their homes, and feared they’d get in trouble with the city. And some people felt distrustful of an outside institution leading the project.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>EcoBlock faced other hurdles: a pandemic, supply chain issues and inflation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As prices rose, the project shrank. Instead of an all-electric utopia, EcoBlock would mostly address the biggest sources of a home’s pollution: heating and cooling.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Workers, workers everywhere\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Finally, in 2024, construction began.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Suddenly, there were workers everywhere, blowing insulation into walls, replacing HVAC systems and installing solar panels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We had this joke on the block: who’s getting the porta party in front of their house? That’s how we know who’s getting construction done,” Zones said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995169\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995169\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/11/241113-ECOBLOCKFOLLOWUP-59-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/11/241113-ECOBLOCKFOLLOWUP-59-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/11/241113-ECOBLOCKFOLLOWUP-59-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/11/241113-ECOBLOCKFOLLOWUP-59-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/11/241113-ECOBLOCKFOLLOWUP-59-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/11/241113-ECOBLOCKFOLLOWUP-59-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/11/241113-ECOBLOCKFOLLOWUP-59-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/11/241113-ECOBLOCKFOLLOWUP-59-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Salalai Vongsy, a contractor with Eco Performance Builders, works in Jesse Hassinger’s home in Oakland on Nov. 13, 2024, as part of the EcoBlock project. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Now, five-and-a-half years after the block signed on, the work is almost done.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Neighbors are reveling in their new comforts: new heating and cooling, insulation, bathroom fans to improve air circulation, solar panels, new roofs to support them and more. The block has also had a facelift, with chunks of sidewalk concrete ripped up and trees and native plants put in.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several more ambitious aspects of the project were scrapped along the way due to funding and feasibility limitations: a shared back-up battery, a community microgrid and a shared electric vehicle and charger.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But residents ultimately seem grateful for their upgrades and for having an outside entity coordinate all the details for them.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Did it work?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Now that the first EcoBlock is near completion: Did Therese Peffer and her colleagues’ theory work? Is upgrading a whole block faster and cheaper than going house by house?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Peffer’s takeaway: yes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here is why, and what they’ve learned.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995320\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1995320 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/241113-EcoBlockFollowup-11-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/241113-EcoBlockFollowup-11-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/241113-EcoBlockFollowup-11-BL-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/241113-EcoBlockFollowup-11-BL-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/241113-EcoBlockFollowup-11-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/241113-EcoBlockFollowup-11-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/241113-EcoBlockFollowup-11-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/241113-EcoBlockFollowup-11-BL-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nick Corlett stands next to a newly installed heat pump at his home in Oakland on Nov. 13, 2024, as part of the EcoBlock project. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003col>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Costs\u003c/strong>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>This pilot project was far more expensive than future ones. \u003c/strong>The EcoBlock pilot cost $8 million, funded by a state grant and a private donor. But that included the cost of all kinds of experts, and parts of the project that were designed but never used.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ol>\n\u003cp style=\"padding-left: 40px\">Peffer thinks the next attempt would cost just a third of that, and go much faster. “It takes that first time of kicking the tires and trying to break things to kind of lay that pathway for the next one,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Buying in bulk saves money.\u003c/strong> Peffer estimates EcoBlock saved 10-20% on bulk purchases of equipment like appliances, wires and electric panels. They were also able to get more competitive bids from contractors, because multiple homes needed work.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Return on investment for energy efficiency for low-income residents faces an unexpected hurdle.\u003c/strong> Many low-income residents have discounted energy rates and/or relatively low energy use, which means the timeline for the return on investment for energy efficiency improvements can be prohibitively long, according to the California Energy Commission.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003col start=\"2\">\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Proximity of buildings helps, but being on the same street might not be so important.\u003c/strong> The project contractor, Keith O’Hara, who heads Eco Performance Builders, said his crews saved time by being able to use the last few hours of a day to cross a street and start on a new project, or simply to help another crew carry a heavy appliance. But if a full block isn’t attempting to remove all gas appliances from their homes with the goal of removing a gas main beneath their road, they don’t necessarily need to be on the same block. “I just think it’s really hard to get all those people on the block to agree,” O’Hara said.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ol>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=science_1996563 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-04-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"padding-left: 40px\">Instead, O’Hara said, homes could be in the same general area as one another.\u003c/p>\n\u003col start=\"3\">\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>You don’t need to overhaul everything. \u003c/strong>While this project had lofty goals, Peffer thinks future EcoBlocks could focus on smaller, more manageable upgrades. “Maybe it’s bulk purchasing. Like, ‘I want an induction stove, do you want an induction stove? Let’s go in together and see if we can get a 10% discount,’” she said.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>It all hinges on the neighbors. \u003c/strong>Neighbors are crucial to the success of a project like this in several ways:\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>The neighbors need to be committed.\u003c/strong> EcoBlock attempted to do these upgrades on a different Oakland block at first, one that did not raise its hand for the project, and that attempt ended in failure. But having a block volunteer made for much greater buy-in and patience when obstacles came up.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>It helps to have a neighborhood where there is already some sense of camaraderie.\u003c/strong> Because Santana Pacheco and Zones had built ties through an annual block party, they’d already established a baseline of trust among neighbors, which “made it easier for folks to take a leap of faith and not get completely discouraged through all the ups and downs,” Zones reflected.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ol>\n\u003cp style=\"padding-left: 40px\">If you don’t have a sense of trust among your neighbors, the first step is to build that: share fruit from your backyard tree, host a gathering or start a group chat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>The best publicist for a project like this is your neighbor.\u003c/strong> Because your neighbor can better understand your specific interests, they may speak your language or have some other cultural similarity.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp style=\"padding-left: 40px\">“Also because we are sticking it out and probably have as much to lose as they do,” Santana Pacheco said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995535\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995535\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/250126-EcoBlock-04-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/250126-EcoBlock-04-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/250126-EcoBlock-04-BL-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/250126-EcoBlock-04-BL-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/250126-EcoBlock-04-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/250126-EcoBlock-04-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/250126-EcoBlock-04-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/250126-EcoBlock-04-BL-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Friends and neighbors plant trees on their block in Oakland on Jan. 26, 2025. The block is part of EcoBlock, a collaborative project bringing together academics, professionals, government agencies, utilities, private donors and residents. The initiative aims to help an entire city block reduce emissions through insulation upgrades, electric appliances and solar panels. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Group projects help increase buy-in.\u003c/strong> One of the major project funders, the California Energy Commission, reported that aspects of the project, which brought the block together, such as planned tree plantings, increased engagement.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>The final EcoBlock solar panels are slated to turn on in the fall. After gathering data about costs and electricity use for some time, Peffer and her team will have more detailed lessons to share, including guides for other blocks to use.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Overall, though, it is the desire people have to build community that has stuck with residents and researchers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s “something about tapping into a community and strengthening the real relationships with good people, not the Facebook relationships or Instagram or whatever,” Peffer said. “The door to door, the face to face, the people that pass you day to day on the street.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Zones, the project has meant a lot as he considers how to tackle climate change, which often feels overwhelming.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So much of it seems like a string of losses. And this felt like a victory of some kind,” Zones said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Just before the 2019 holiday season, musician Isaac Zones got an \u003ca href=\"https://citris-uc.org/oakland-ecoblock-looking-for-interested-neighborhoods/\">email\u003c/a>, forwarded from a friend. It asked, “Do you and your neighbors want to save money on your energy bills, reduce carbon emissions and survive the next power outage?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His answer was, well, yeah.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Basically, I read it as like free solar for everybody on my block,” Zones said. Zones lives on an East Oakland street lined with century-old single-family Victorians, mid-century, boxy apartment buildings and everything in between.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1984963/electric-avenue-one-oakland-blocks-improbable-journey-to-ditch-gas\">The initiative, headed by researchers at UC Berkeley, invited entire neighborhoods to apply for major upgrades\u003c/a>: energy- and water-efficient appliances, insulation and solar panels, along with a shared back-up battery and microgrid to protect the street from power blackouts. All for free.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In return, the researchers would get to test out a theory: would retrofitting buildings together, all at once, save money by buying in bulk? Would it save time for a contractor to walk from one job across the street to another? Would people even want to sign up?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The project would tackle a significant but overlooked issue: the planet-warming pollution that comes from buildings and the energy they use. In the U.S., that’s roughly \u003ca href=\"https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/commercial-and-residential-sector-emissions\">one-third\u003c/a> of all emissions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A way to cut that pollution is to wean buildings off fossil fuels like natural gas and swap out gas appliances for electric ones. But doing this home by home and business by business is expensive and slow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995537\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995537\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/250126-EcoBlock-16-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/250126-EcoBlock-16-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/250126-EcoBlock-16-BL-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/250126-EcoBlock-16-BL-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/250126-EcoBlock-16-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/250126-EcoBlock-16-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/250126-EcoBlock-16-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/250126-EcoBlock-16-BL-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Therese Peffer, a researcher from UC Berkeley’s California Institute for Energy and Environment CITRIS Climate initiative, helps neighbors plant trees on a block in Oakland on Jan. 26, 2025. The block is part of EcoBlock, a collaborative project bringing together academics, professionals, government agencies, utilities, private donors and residents. The initiative aims to help an entire city block reduce emissions through insulation upgrades, electric appliances and solar panels. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>So researchers at UC Berkeley’s California Institute for Energy and Environment set out to study if there was another way to slash pollution from buildings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They felt there was already enough attention on how to construct new buildings for a warmer world. “New construction is easy, right? It’s sexy and it’s fun, but it’s not where the biggest problem is,” said Therese Peffer, who heads the project.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we’re going to try to really combat climate change, it is looking at the existing buildings in this country,” Peffer said — the millions of offices, warehouses, restaurants and homes we already have.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2019, Peffer and her colleagues at UC Berkeley got a \u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.ca.gov/sites/default/files/2021-05/CEC-500-2020-009-AP.pdf\">$5 million grant\u003c/a> from the state of California to test out a new, block-scale approach.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And Isaac Zones was ready to sign his block up as the guinea pig.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Getting neighbors on board\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Isaac Zones and his wife, Vivian Santana Pacheco, had always cared about the environment, but their passion grew after they had their child, now in elementary school.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We want this world to be a habitable one for him,” Santana Pacheco said. “Already, I feel like we’re behind, and that I’m not doing enough. This feels more tangible than showing up to a protest.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1983903\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1983903\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS67844_20230810-BlossomStreet-13-JY-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS67844_20230810-BlossomStreet-13-JY-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS67844_20230810-BlossomStreet-13-JY-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS67844_20230810-BlossomStreet-13-JY-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS67844_20230810-BlossomStreet-13-JY-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS67844_20230810-BlossomStreet-13-JY-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS67844_20230810-BlossomStreet-13-JY-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS67844_20230810-BlossomStreet-13-JY-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Issac Zones (left) and Vivian Santana-Pacheco (right) stand for a portrait in front of their electric vehicle in Oakland, California, on Aug. 11, 2023. The couple is a part of a group of neighbors in Oakland that are beginning to electrify their home appliances. \u003ccite>(Juliana Yamada/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The pair went door to door, selling neighbors on the project, called “EcoBlock.” The task wasn’t unfamiliar: they’d gone door-knocking after moving to the block almost a decade ago. But that time it was to invite people out for a block party, which has since become an annual tradition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Asking neighbors to come out for a beer is different than asking them to overhaul their largest asset, but Santana Pacheco and Zones had a lot of success.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some residents were immediately game: they wanted air conditioning to deal with California’s increasing heat waves, and they valued how the project prioritized a low and middle-income neighborhood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the end, Santana Pacheco and Zones convinced 15 out of the 25 properties on the block to sign on.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The holdouts\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>So, who didn’t want to be part of EcoBlock?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Steve Johnson lives in a white Victorian that’s been in his family for almost 100 years. He’s a retired contractor and spent decades remodeling his home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m 70 years old. I just didn’t want to go through a lot of new construction all over again because I really don’t need it,” Johnson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995170\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995170\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/11/241113-ECOBLOCKFOLLOWUP-63-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/11/241113-ECOBLOCKFOLLOWUP-63-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/11/241113-ECOBLOCKFOLLOWUP-63-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/11/241113-ECOBLOCKFOLLOWUP-63-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/11/241113-ECOBLOCKFOLLOWUP-63-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/11/241113-ECOBLOCKFOLLOWUP-63-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/11/241113-ECOBLOCKFOLLOWUP-63-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/11/241113-ECOBLOCKFOLLOWUP-63-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Steven Johnson stands in his kitchen in Oakland on Nov. 13, 2024. Johnson decided against participating in the EcoBlock project. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>His energy bills are incredibly low already, and he thinks there are other ways to tackle planet-warming pollution; things like aviation fuel and shipping.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Plus, he isn’t ready to give up all fossil fuels just yet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I just can’t imagine not cooking on gas. And the whole EcoBlock wanted to take away the gas,” Johnson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That was a major goal of the project — weaning homes off natural gas, which is a \u003ca href=\"https://www.epa.gov/gmi/importance-methane#:~:text=Methane%20is%20the%20second%20most,trapping%20heat%20in%20the%20atmosphere.\">powerful climate pollutant\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other people who opted out of the project had done unpermitted work on their homes, and feared they’d get in trouble with the city. And some people felt distrustful of an outside institution leading the project.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>EcoBlock faced other hurdles: a pandemic, supply chain issues and inflation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As prices rose, the project shrank. Instead of an all-electric utopia, EcoBlock would mostly address the biggest sources of a home’s pollution: heating and cooling.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Workers, workers everywhere\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Finally, in 2024, construction began.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Suddenly, there were workers everywhere, blowing insulation into walls, replacing HVAC systems and installing solar panels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We had this joke on the block: who’s getting the porta party in front of their house? That’s how we know who’s getting construction done,” Zones said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995169\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995169\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/11/241113-ECOBLOCKFOLLOWUP-59-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/11/241113-ECOBLOCKFOLLOWUP-59-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/11/241113-ECOBLOCKFOLLOWUP-59-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/11/241113-ECOBLOCKFOLLOWUP-59-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/11/241113-ECOBLOCKFOLLOWUP-59-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/11/241113-ECOBLOCKFOLLOWUP-59-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/11/241113-ECOBLOCKFOLLOWUP-59-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/11/241113-ECOBLOCKFOLLOWUP-59-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Salalai Vongsy, a contractor with Eco Performance Builders, works in Jesse Hassinger’s home in Oakland on Nov. 13, 2024, as part of the EcoBlock project. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Now, five-and-a-half years after the block signed on, the work is almost done.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Neighbors are reveling in their new comforts: new heating and cooling, insulation, bathroom fans to improve air circulation, solar panels, new roofs to support them and more. The block has also had a facelift, with chunks of sidewalk concrete ripped up and trees and native plants put in.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several more ambitious aspects of the project were scrapped along the way due to funding and feasibility limitations: a shared back-up battery, a community microgrid and a shared electric vehicle and charger.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But residents ultimately seem grateful for their upgrades and for having an outside entity coordinate all the details for them.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Did it work?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Now that the first EcoBlock is near completion: Did Therese Peffer and her colleagues’ theory work? Is upgrading a whole block faster and cheaper than going house by house?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Peffer’s takeaway: yes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here is why, and what they’ve learned.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995320\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1995320 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/241113-EcoBlockFollowup-11-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/241113-EcoBlockFollowup-11-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/241113-EcoBlockFollowup-11-BL-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/241113-EcoBlockFollowup-11-BL-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/241113-EcoBlockFollowup-11-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/241113-EcoBlockFollowup-11-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/241113-EcoBlockFollowup-11-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/241113-EcoBlockFollowup-11-BL-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nick Corlett stands next to a newly installed heat pump at his home in Oakland on Nov. 13, 2024, as part of the EcoBlock project. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003col>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Costs\u003c/strong>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>This pilot project was far more expensive than future ones. \u003c/strong>The EcoBlock pilot cost $8 million, funded by a state grant and a private donor. But that included the cost of all kinds of experts, and parts of the project that were designed but never used.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ol>\n\u003cp style=\"padding-left: 40px\">Peffer thinks the next attempt would cost just a third of that, and go much faster. “It takes that first time of kicking the tires and trying to break things to kind of lay that pathway for the next one,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Buying in bulk saves money.\u003c/strong> Peffer estimates EcoBlock saved 10-20% on bulk purchases of equipment like appliances, wires and electric panels. They were also able to get more competitive bids from contractors, because multiple homes needed work.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Return on investment for energy efficiency for low-income residents faces an unexpected hurdle.\u003c/strong> Many low-income residents have discounted energy rates and/or relatively low energy use, which means the timeline for the return on investment for energy efficiency improvements can be prohibitively long, according to the California Energy Commission.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003col start=\"2\">\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Proximity of buildings helps, but being on the same street might not be so important.\u003c/strong> The project contractor, Keith O’Hara, who heads Eco Performance Builders, said his crews saved time by being able to use the last few hours of a day to cross a street and start on a new project, or simply to help another crew carry a heavy appliance. But if a full block isn’t attempting to remove all gas appliances from their homes with the goal of removing a gas main beneath their road, they don’t necessarily need to be on the same block. “I just think it’s really hard to get all those people on the block to agree,” O’Hara said.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ol>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"padding-left: 40px\">Instead, O’Hara said, homes could be in the same general area as one another.\u003c/p>\n\u003col start=\"3\">\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>You don’t need to overhaul everything. \u003c/strong>While this project had lofty goals, Peffer thinks future EcoBlocks could focus on smaller, more manageable upgrades. “Maybe it’s bulk purchasing. Like, ‘I want an induction stove, do you want an induction stove? Let’s go in together and see if we can get a 10% discount,’” she said.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>It all hinges on the neighbors. \u003c/strong>Neighbors are crucial to the success of a project like this in several ways:\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>The neighbors need to be committed.\u003c/strong> EcoBlock attempted to do these upgrades on a different Oakland block at first, one that did not raise its hand for the project, and that attempt ended in failure. But having a block volunteer made for much greater buy-in and patience when obstacles came up.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>It helps to have a neighborhood where there is already some sense of camaraderie.\u003c/strong> Because Santana Pacheco and Zones had built ties through an annual block party, they’d already established a baseline of trust among neighbors, which “made it easier for folks to take a leap of faith and not get completely discouraged through all the ups and downs,” Zones reflected.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ol>\n\u003cp style=\"padding-left: 40px\">If you don’t have a sense of trust among your neighbors, the first step is to build that: share fruit from your backyard tree, host a gathering or start a group chat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>The best publicist for a project like this is your neighbor.\u003c/strong> Because your neighbor can better understand your specific interests, they may speak your language or have some other cultural similarity.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp style=\"padding-left: 40px\">“Also because we are sticking it out and probably have as much to lose as they do,” Santana Pacheco said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995535\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995535\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/250126-EcoBlock-04-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/250126-EcoBlock-04-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/250126-EcoBlock-04-BL-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/250126-EcoBlock-04-BL-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/250126-EcoBlock-04-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/250126-EcoBlock-04-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/250126-EcoBlock-04-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/250126-EcoBlock-04-BL-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Friends and neighbors plant trees on their block in Oakland on Jan. 26, 2025. The block is part of EcoBlock, a collaborative project bringing together academics, professionals, government agencies, utilities, private donors and residents. The initiative aims to help an entire city block reduce emissions through insulation upgrades, electric appliances and solar panels. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Group projects help increase buy-in.\u003c/strong> One of the major project funders, the California Energy Commission, reported that aspects of the project, which brought the block together, such as planned tree plantings, increased engagement.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>The final EcoBlock solar panels are slated to turn on in the fall. After gathering data about costs and electricity use for some time, Peffer and her team will have more detailed lessons to share, including guides for other blocks to use.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Overall, though, it is the desire people have to build community that has stuck with residents and researchers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s “something about tapping into a community and strengthening the real relationships with good people, not the Facebook relationships or Instagram or whatever,” Peffer said. “The door to door, the face to face, the people that pass you day to day on the street.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Zones, the project has meant a lot as he considers how to tackle climate change, which often feels overwhelming.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So much of it seems like a string of losses. And this felt like a victory of some kind,” Zones said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "pge-proposes-new-rate-increase-but-says-customer-bills-wont-rise-yet",
"title": "PG&E Proposes New Rate Increase, But Says Customer Bills Won’t Rise — Yet",
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"headTitle": "PG&E Proposes New Rate Increase, But Says Customer Bills Won’t Rise — Yet | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>PG&E proposed a new rate plan for 2027–30 to state regulators Thursday, one they say would net no change to customer bills for the next two years, approximately, due to cutting out other expenses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On its own, the proposal, submitted to the California Public Utilities Commission, shows an average increase of 3.5% in 2027 combined gas and electric bills, about a $9 monthly jump. But PG&E said that the cost would be offset by deducting other charges from customers’ bills.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The plan projects average annual increases of between 3.2% and 3.4% from 2028 to 2030 — about $9 more year-over-year than the current average utility bill. However, PG&E representatives cautioned that those figures could change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The proposal, called a “general rate case,” is a requirement of major investor-owned utilities that establishes base energy rates to cover operations, maintenance and system upgrades. Utilities must submit one every four years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E executives said costs associated with previous general rate cases, as well as old wildfire mitigation and storm recovery costs, will be removed from customer bills, helping to offset the rate increases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1985636\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/12/04262023_ksuzuki_warmweather-426-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1985636\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/12/04262023_ksuzuki_warmweather-426-qut.jpg\" alt=\"A utility meter.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1277\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/12/04262023_ksuzuki_warmweather-426-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/12/04262023_ksuzuki_warmweather-426-qut-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/12/04262023_ksuzuki_warmweather-426-qut-1020x678.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/12/04262023_ksuzuki_warmweather-426-qut-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/12/04262023_ksuzuki_warmweather-426-qut-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/12/04262023_ksuzuki_warmweather-426-qut-1536x1022.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A PG&E electricity meter on a residential building in Berkeley, on April 26, 2023. \u003ccite>(Kori Suzuki/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>According to a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12033386/pge-electricity-rates-have-jumped-nearly-70-since-2020\">KQED analysis\u003c/a>, the average utility bill for PG&E customers increased by about 67% over the last five years. PG&E customers pay some of \u003ca href=\"https://www.lao.ca.gov/reports/2025/4950/Residential-Electricity-Rates-010725.pdf\">the highest utility rates in the country\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are transforming the company, and this filing is a demonstration of that,” said Carla Peterman, PG&E’s executive vice president of corporate affairs and chief sustainability officer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company wants to use funds to modernize and wildfire-proof the grid, increase the use of clean energy, and replace gas pipelines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Peterman said the utility has found ways to save money through new processes and technologies, such as using drones to inspect poles and wires faster and at a lower cost. She said their proposal represents “the new PG&E,” and a concerted effort to rebuild trust with customers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mark Toney, executive director of TURN, The Utility Reform Network, said touting just a small increase or rates that remain flat is disingenuous.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The rates that are currently being paid are grossly inflated and they’re artificially high because PG&E had such atrocious overspending on wildfire mitigation in 2020 to 2022,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_12033386 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/P1100941_qed-1020x680.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company spent more than double what they were supposed to on efforts to reduce wildfire risk, Toney said, and customers are bearing the brunt of that. TURN and other consumer representatives argue investor-owned utilities are incentivized to overspend on capital projects, like hardening the grid against wildfires, because that type of investment brings in returns for shareholders. Instead of protecting power lines by insulating them, which is cheaper and faster, a utility may instead underground those wires, a more expensive and more time-consuming option.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We do not believe there is any need for any rate increases at this point,” said Roger Lin, senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity’s Energy Justice program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Toney cautioned customers that while the numbers in PG&E’s rate case may look moderate, the company has other avenues to ask for cost increases outside of its general rate case, including for wildfire liabilities, storm damage, or grid emergencies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So on one hand, they’re saying, ‘We’re being very frugal and we’re going to have a general rate case with only a small request.’ But that has not stopped PG&E from asking for multiple rate increases in all the other areas,” Toney said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E, however, says all of their pending increase requests are factored into their projection that bills will be flat in 2027.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>High electricity bills are a tremendous burden for low-income earners in the state, forcing some to decide between cooling their homes during heat waves or paying for other expenses. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11970332/rising-utility-costs-compound-californias-housing-crisis\">Energy insecurity is also a contributing factor in the state’s housing and homelessness crisis\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The lower your income, the higher percent of your income you have to pay for an absolutely essential necessity of life,” Toney said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The CPUC will analyze PG&E’s proposal alongside input from the public and consumer advocates. The regulatory agency will then decide how much of the proposal to approve, often suggesting a lower rate than what is submitted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In its 2023 proposal, PG&E requested a 26% rate increase. \u003ca href=\"https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/news-and-updates/all-news/cpuc-prioritizes-safety-reliability-and-affordability-in-pge-rate-case-2023\">The CPUC approved 11%.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "PG&E executives on Thursday asked state regulators for what they say is the smallest rate increase in a decade, but critics say the company should not need to raise prices and is misspending customer money. ",
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"title": "PG&E Proposes New Rate Increase, But Says Customer Bills Won’t Rise — Yet | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>PG&E proposed a new rate plan for 2027–30 to state regulators Thursday, one they say would net no change to customer bills for the next two years, approximately, due to cutting out other expenses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On its own, the proposal, submitted to the California Public Utilities Commission, shows an average increase of 3.5% in 2027 combined gas and electric bills, about a $9 monthly jump. But PG&E said that the cost would be offset by deducting other charges from customers’ bills.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The plan projects average annual increases of between 3.2% and 3.4% from 2028 to 2030 — about $9 more year-over-year than the current average utility bill. However, PG&E representatives cautioned that those figures could change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The proposal, called a “general rate case,” is a requirement of major investor-owned utilities that establishes base energy rates to cover operations, maintenance and system upgrades. Utilities must submit one every four years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E executives said costs associated with previous general rate cases, as well as old wildfire mitigation and storm recovery costs, will be removed from customer bills, helping to offset the rate increases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1985636\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/12/04262023_ksuzuki_warmweather-426-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1985636\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/12/04262023_ksuzuki_warmweather-426-qut.jpg\" alt=\"A utility meter.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1277\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/12/04262023_ksuzuki_warmweather-426-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/12/04262023_ksuzuki_warmweather-426-qut-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/12/04262023_ksuzuki_warmweather-426-qut-1020x678.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/12/04262023_ksuzuki_warmweather-426-qut-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/12/04262023_ksuzuki_warmweather-426-qut-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/12/04262023_ksuzuki_warmweather-426-qut-1536x1022.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A PG&E electricity meter on a residential building in Berkeley, on April 26, 2023. \u003ccite>(Kori Suzuki/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>According to a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12033386/pge-electricity-rates-have-jumped-nearly-70-since-2020\">KQED analysis\u003c/a>, the average utility bill for PG&E customers increased by about 67% over the last five years. PG&E customers pay some of \u003ca href=\"https://www.lao.ca.gov/reports/2025/4950/Residential-Electricity-Rates-010725.pdf\">the highest utility rates in the country\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are transforming the company, and this filing is a demonstration of that,” said Carla Peterman, PG&E’s executive vice president of corporate affairs and chief sustainability officer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company wants to use funds to modernize and wildfire-proof the grid, increase the use of clean energy, and replace gas pipelines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Peterman said the utility has found ways to save money through new processes and technologies, such as using drones to inspect poles and wires faster and at a lower cost. She said their proposal represents “the new PG&E,” and a concerted effort to rebuild trust with customers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mark Toney, executive director of TURN, The Utility Reform Network, said touting just a small increase or rates that remain flat is disingenuous.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The rates that are currently being paid are grossly inflated and they’re artificially high because PG&E had such atrocious overspending on wildfire mitigation in 2020 to 2022,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company spent more than double what they were supposed to on efforts to reduce wildfire risk, Toney said, and customers are bearing the brunt of that. TURN and other consumer representatives argue investor-owned utilities are incentivized to overspend on capital projects, like hardening the grid against wildfires, because that type of investment brings in returns for shareholders. Instead of protecting power lines by insulating them, which is cheaper and faster, a utility may instead underground those wires, a more expensive and more time-consuming option.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We do not believe there is any need for any rate increases at this point,” said Roger Lin, senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity’s Energy Justice program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Toney cautioned customers that while the numbers in PG&E’s rate case may look moderate, the company has other avenues to ask for cost increases outside of its general rate case, including for wildfire liabilities, storm damage, or grid emergencies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So on one hand, they’re saying, ‘We’re being very frugal and we’re going to have a general rate case with only a small request.’ But that has not stopped PG&E from asking for multiple rate increases in all the other areas,” Toney said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E, however, says all of their pending increase requests are factored into their projection that bills will be flat in 2027.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>High electricity bills are a tremendous burden for low-income earners in the state, forcing some to decide between cooling their homes during heat waves or paying for other expenses. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11970332/rising-utility-costs-compound-californias-housing-crisis\">Energy insecurity is also a contributing factor in the state’s housing and homelessness crisis\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The lower your income, the higher percent of your income you have to pay for an absolutely essential necessity of life,” Toney said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The CPUC will analyze PG&E’s proposal alongside input from the public and consumer advocates. The regulatory agency will then decide how much of the proposal to approve, often suggesting a lower rate than what is submitted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In its 2023 proposal, PG&E requested a 26% rate increase. \u003ca href=\"https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/news-and-updates/all-news/cpuc-prioritizes-safety-reliability-and-affordability-in-pge-rate-case-2023\">The CPUC approved 11%.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Meet the Power Plant Tucked into Garages and Basements",
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"content": "\u003cp>Each morning after waking up, Ivan Israel Amezcua heads to his kitchen to prepare mate for himself and his husband. He fills a black teapot, sets it on their sleek, flat induction cooktop and presses a button. The water quickly warms, and he pours it over crushed green leaves tucked into an hourglass-shaped mate gourd on the counter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Israel Amezcua does not light a flame or burn any planet-warming gases in the process. The only flames in the couple’s three-bedroom North Richmond home dance atop scented candles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s because the home is fully electric and then some. Each appliance is connected to the couple’s phones, as well as a software that can respond to the needs of the larger electricity grid — what energy nerds call a “virtual power plant.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If weather reports forecast extreme heat and people crank up their air conditioners in the afternoon, Israel Amezcua’s water heater will warm its tank in the morning. His showers will still be hot. Israel Amezcua avoids pulling power from the grid during the hours when it is expensive and in high demand. His backup battery can power his home during peak energy demand, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On a bright day, when solar power is abundant and cheap, his home appliances will turn on and the battery charges.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1996551\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1996551\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-20-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-20-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-20-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-20-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-20-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-20-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-20-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-20-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An aerial view of Ramon Heredia and Ivan Israel Amezcua’s home and solar panels in Richmond on March 21, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Now imagine many homes, with many electric water and space heaters, induction stoves, smart thermostats, electric vehicle chargers, solar panels and backup batteries. When directed through a command center with software, the potential is enormous to cut demands on the grid or feed power back to it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In some ways, it is like adding a large-scale power plant without \u003ca href=\"https://www.brattle.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Californias-Virtual-Power-Potential-How-Five-Consumer-Technologies-Could-Improve-the-States-Energy-Affordability.pdf\">the time-consuming task\u003c/a> of constructing and running a polluting behemoth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Advocates of virtual power plant technology argue it will grow exponentially, modernize and strengthen California’s grid and avoid burning gases that harm the planet. Skeptics see the technology as repackaging what already exists and point out that it can be expensive for customers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, California’s lawmakers are introducing bills to build virtual power plants in hopes of lowering soaring electricity costs.[aside postID=news_12029684 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250225-Rebuilding-Electric-MD-02-1020x680.jpg']But none of this was on the minds of Israel Amezcua, a hairstylist, and his husband, Ramon Heredia, when they toured the home they bought last summer. To Heredia, it was just “the most beautiful house in the area.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When I saw that this house had air conditioning, that was my number one,” said Heredia, who manages inventory at a manufacturing company. “I didn’t know we had solar panels, I didn’t know this was a carbon-free home, I didn’t understand any of that. All I knew was it had air conditioning, and I was going to sleep so comfortably.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The couple also had no idea that dozens of scientists, housing advocates, energy professionals, and journalists — even Eduardo Martinez, Richmond’s mayor — pressed into the “home of the future” for a media event days before it went on the market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A typical power plant might make you think of smoke stacks or Homer Simpson juggling a glowing tube of nuclear waste. A virtual power plant is mostly invisible, said Alexandra McGee, a vice president at MCE, a nonprofit energy provider serving Marin, Napa, Solano and Contra Costa counties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s these small pockets of power tucked into garages or basements or homes and businesses,” McGee said of the distributed appliances that make up the virtual power plant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1996549\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1996549\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-13-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-13-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-13-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-13-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-13-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-13-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-13-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-13-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ramon Heredia makes mate in the kitchen of his all-electric home in Richmond on March 21, 2025. Heredia and his partner, Ivan Israel Amezcua, had to buy new cookware to use with the electric oven range. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>California’s grid, abundant with solar power in the middle of the day, often experiences a \u003ca href=\"https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=56880\">strain\u003c/a> between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m., as the sun sets and people return home from work and begin using their electric appliances. To compensate, energy providers can ramp up a gas-fired power plant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, a virtual power plant could relieve that evening power grid strain: backup batteries, fully charged from midday, could power not only the homes they are attached to but also others nearby.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While virtual power plants are still in their nascency, they could power roughly 1 million homes during times of peak energy use last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The volume could \u003ca href=\"https://www.brattle.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Californias-Virtual-Power-Potential-How-Five-Consumer-Technologies-Could-Improve-the-States-Energy-Affordability.pdf\">grow fivefold\u003c/a> by 2035, saving ratepayers around $550 million each year, according to a report by research firm the Brattle Group. The extra power could prove significant, as California’s energy needs are anticipated to grow by \u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.ca.gov/sites/default/files/2024-05/2023_Integrated_Energy_Policy_Report_Highlights_ADA.pdf\">close to 30%\u003c/a> in the next decade.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State Assemblymembers \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB740\">John Harabedian, \u003c/a>D-Pasadena, and \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB44\">Nick Schultz,\u003c/a> D-Burbank, as well as state Sen. \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB541\">Josh Becker, \u003c/a>D-Menlo Park, have introduced bills to help deploy virtual power plants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1996582 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/IMG_0987.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/IMG_0987.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/IMG_0987-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/IMG_0987-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/IMG_0987-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/IMG_0987-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/IMG_0987-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/IMG_0987-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/IMG_0987-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>MCE heads a pilot in Richmond, which includes the home of Israel Amezcua and Heredia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It kicked off in 2024 and will be fully operational at the end of this year. The pilot includes roughly 100 homes with low-income residents and two businesses. For participating, residents earn up to $50 off of their monthly energy bills, and businesses can earn up to $350. In return, MCE software will communicate with and direct hundreds of appliances, including backup batteries and heat pump water heaters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>MCE is one of several community energy providers in California that generate or purchase power, using PG&E’s infrastructure to deliver it to customers. The virtual power plant cuts down on the costs of buying energy. MCE won state funding to build out the pilot for all the communities it serves over the next four years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It saves MCE money because we’re the ones who are procuring the energy to serve that customer load,” McGee said. “So if collectively we’re shifting everyone out of the more expensive times, then our contracts get cheaper and we can pass along those bill savings for the customers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E spokesperson Paul Doherty said the utility has been using virtual power plant technology for roughly 15 years. He said the company has enough energy to power more than 500,000 homes at any given time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1996550\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1996550\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-15-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-15-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-15-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-15-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-15-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-15-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-15-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-15-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ivan Israel Amezcua (left) and Ramon Heredia talk about their heating system in the garage of their all-electric home in Richmond on March 21, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>This year, PG&E, Sunrun, a San Francisco-based solar company, and SPAN, a San Francisco-based electric panel company, launched a project in the South Bay and Central Valley that harnesses more than a thousand residential backup batteries and smart panels to reduce strain on the grid. Smart panels connected to the internet allow people to manage how their homes use energy, such as prioritizing when certain appliances run, turn off or charge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Apart from reducing the probability of outages and saving money, virtual power plants allow PG&E to “get more out of our existing infrastructure,” Doherty said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If several people adopt new electric vehicles, heat pumps or other technologies in one neighborhood rather than upgrading wires and transformers to accommodate the need for more electricity, a virtual power plant can help balance energy demand. Software can help stagger when EVs charge, for example.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While some utilities have struggled to interest customers in virtual power plants, representatives of Sunrun think they know how to explain the technology and enroll people. Customers pay no upfront costs to install solar and batteries on their homes. Instead, they contribute a monthly payment. Sunrun manages the software that connects equipment and the logistics of being part of the virtual power plant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sunrun’s Chris Rauscher said their biggest dispatch this year was “enough to power the city of Santa Monica during the evening peak.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1996574\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1996574\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VirtualPowerPlant-14-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VirtualPowerPlant-14-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VirtualPowerPlant-14-BL_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VirtualPowerPlant-14-BL_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VirtualPowerPlant-14-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VirtualPowerPlant-14-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VirtualPowerPlant-14-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VirtualPowerPlant-14-BL_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ivan Israel Amezcua (left) and Ramon Heredia stand inside the garage of their all-electric home in Richmond on March 21, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>However, researchers warn that significant barriers, both technological and behavioral, stand in the way of growing virtual power plants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The scaling is really hard,” said Ram Rajagopal, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford University, adding that virtual power plants are less reliable than natural gas generators.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Israel Amezcua and Heredia moved into a home with gadgets ready to switch on, most people would need to upgrade their existing appliances and electric system to participate in a virtual power plant. Increasing the amount of electricity a panel can handle could cost thousands of dollars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Even if it is economically viable for you to adopt it, there’s so many barriers: financing and installation and the panel upgrades, utility approvals, going through all these hoops just demotivates people,” Rajagopal said.[aside postID=science_1995336 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/Brett-Tryon_1-1020x679.jpg']To succeed, Rajagopal said federal electric codes need updating. “If you’re clearly connecting things that are flexible to your panel, you shouldn’t be required to do panel upgrades.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Duncan Callaway, professor of energy and resources at UC Berkeley, said the technology helped keep the lights on during an extreme heatwave in September 2022 when California’s grid nearly shut down and caused blackouts. Utilities controlled the energy use of appliances remotely, which some would call a virtual power plant. Callaway said utilities have done so for decades, and, before the internet, they used radio signals to turn down air conditioners en masse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He is not yet “convinced that this is a new idea versus taking an old idea and just wrapping it into a cool name that you can get funding for.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And the issues utilities faced decades ago remain. “Folks are very reluctant to have somebody else controlling how much electricity they consume,” Callaway said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When they moved into their home, Israel Amezcua and Heredia bought new pots and pans that work with their induction stove, which requires magnetic materials like iron or steel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I never thought I was going to pay that much for my pans,” Heredia joked, adding that their food tastes better now than before. “This house opened up the opportunity to live differently and to get a better quality of life.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That includes paying no gas bill and $11 monthly for electricity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Each morning after waking up, Ivan Israel Amezcua heads to his kitchen to prepare mate for himself and his husband. He fills a black teapot, sets it on their sleek, flat induction cooktop and presses a button. The water quickly warms, and he pours it over crushed green leaves tucked into an hourglass-shaped mate gourd on the counter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Israel Amezcua does not light a flame or burn any planet-warming gases in the process. The only flames in the couple’s three-bedroom North Richmond home dance atop scented candles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s because the home is fully electric and then some. Each appliance is connected to the couple’s phones, as well as a software that can respond to the needs of the larger electricity grid — what energy nerds call a “virtual power plant.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If weather reports forecast extreme heat and people crank up their air conditioners in the afternoon, Israel Amezcua’s water heater will warm its tank in the morning. His showers will still be hot. Israel Amezcua avoids pulling power from the grid during the hours when it is expensive and in high demand. His backup battery can power his home during peak energy demand, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On a bright day, when solar power is abundant and cheap, his home appliances will turn on and the battery charges.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1996551\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1996551\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-20-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-20-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-20-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-20-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-20-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-20-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-20-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-20-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An aerial view of Ramon Heredia and Ivan Israel Amezcua’s home and solar panels in Richmond on March 21, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Now imagine many homes, with many electric water and space heaters, induction stoves, smart thermostats, electric vehicle chargers, solar panels and backup batteries. When directed through a command center with software, the potential is enormous to cut demands on the grid or feed power back to it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In some ways, it is like adding a large-scale power plant without \u003ca href=\"https://www.brattle.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Californias-Virtual-Power-Potential-How-Five-Consumer-Technologies-Could-Improve-the-States-Energy-Affordability.pdf\">the time-consuming task\u003c/a> of constructing and running a polluting behemoth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Advocates of virtual power plant technology argue it will grow exponentially, modernize and strengthen California’s grid and avoid burning gases that harm the planet. Skeptics see the technology as repackaging what already exists and point out that it can be expensive for customers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, California’s lawmakers are introducing bills to build virtual power plants in hopes of lowering soaring electricity costs.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>But none of this was on the minds of Israel Amezcua, a hairstylist, and his husband, Ramon Heredia, when they toured the home they bought last summer. To Heredia, it was just “the most beautiful house in the area.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When I saw that this house had air conditioning, that was my number one,” said Heredia, who manages inventory at a manufacturing company. “I didn’t know we had solar panels, I didn’t know this was a carbon-free home, I didn’t understand any of that. All I knew was it had air conditioning, and I was going to sleep so comfortably.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The couple also had no idea that dozens of scientists, housing advocates, energy professionals, and journalists — even Eduardo Martinez, Richmond’s mayor — pressed into the “home of the future” for a media event days before it went on the market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A typical power plant might make you think of smoke stacks or Homer Simpson juggling a glowing tube of nuclear waste. A virtual power plant is mostly invisible, said Alexandra McGee, a vice president at MCE, a nonprofit energy provider serving Marin, Napa, Solano and Contra Costa counties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s these small pockets of power tucked into garages or basements or homes and businesses,” McGee said of the distributed appliances that make up the virtual power plant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1996549\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1996549\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-13-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-13-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-13-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-13-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-13-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-13-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-13-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-13-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ramon Heredia makes mate in the kitchen of his all-electric home in Richmond on March 21, 2025. Heredia and his partner, Ivan Israel Amezcua, had to buy new cookware to use with the electric oven range. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>California’s grid, abundant with solar power in the middle of the day, often experiences a \u003ca href=\"https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=56880\">strain\u003c/a> between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m., as the sun sets and people return home from work and begin using their electric appliances. To compensate, energy providers can ramp up a gas-fired power plant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, a virtual power plant could relieve that evening power grid strain: backup batteries, fully charged from midday, could power not only the homes they are attached to but also others nearby.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While virtual power plants are still in their nascency, they could power roughly 1 million homes during times of peak energy use last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The volume could \u003ca href=\"https://www.brattle.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Californias-Virtual-Power-Potential-How-Five-Consumer-Technologies-Could-Improve-the-States-Energy-Affordability.pdf\">grow fivefold\u003c/a> by 2035, saving ratepayers around $550 million each year, according to a report by research firm the Brattle Group. The extra power could prove significant, as California’s energy needs are anticipated to grow by \u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.ca.gov/sites/default/files/2024-05/2023_Integrated_Energy_Policy_Report_Highlights_ADA.pdf\">close to 30%\u003c/a> in the next decade.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State Assemblymembers \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB740\">John Harabedian, \u003c/a>D-Pasadena, and \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB44\">Nick Schultz,\u003c/a> D-Burbank, as well as state Sen. \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB541\">Josh Becker, \u003c/a>D-Menlo Park, have introduced bills to help deploy virtual power plants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1996582 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/IMG_0987.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/IMG_0987.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/IMG_0987-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/IMG_0987-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/IMG_0987-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/IMG_0987-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/IMG_0987-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/IMG_0987-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/IMG_0987-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>MCE heads a pilot in Richmond, which includes the home of Israel Amezcua and Heredia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It kicked off in 2024 and will be fully operational at the end of this year. The pilot includes roughly 100 homes with low-income residents and two businesses. For participating, residents earn up to $50 off of their monthly energy bills, and businesses can earn up to $350. In return, MCE software will communicate with and direct hundreds of appliances, including backup batteries and heat pump water heaters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>MCE is one of several community energy providers in California that generate or purchase power, using PG&E’s infrastructure to deliver it to customers. The virtual power plant cuts down on the costs of buying energy. MCE won state funding to build out the pilot for all the communities it serves over the next four years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It saves MCE money because we’re the ones who are procuring the energy to serve that customer load,” McGee said. “So if collectively we’re shifting everyone out of the more expensive times, then our contracts get cheaper and we can pass along those bill savings for the customers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E spokesperson Paul Doherty said the utility has been using virtual power plant technology for roughly 15 years. He said the company has enough energy to power more than 500,000 homes at any given time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1996550\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1996550\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-15-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-15-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-15-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-15-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-15-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-15-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-15-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VIRTUALPOWERPLANT-15-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ivan Israel Amezcua (left) and Ramon Heredia talk about their heating system in the garage of their all-electric home in Richmond on March 21, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>This year, PG&E, Sunrun, a San Francisco-based solar company, and SPAN, a San Francisco-based electric panel company, launched a project in the South Bay and Central Valley that harnesses more than a thousand residential backup batteries and smart panels to reduce strain on the grid. Smart panels connected to the internet allow people to manage how their homes use energy, such as prioritizing when certain appliances run, turn off or charge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Apart from reducing the probability of outages and saving money, virtual power plants allow PG&E to “get more out of our existing infrastructure,” Doherty said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If several people adopt new electric vehicles, heat pumps or other technologies in one neighborhood rather than upgrading wires and transformers to accommodate the need for more electricity, a virtual power plant can help balance energy demand. Software can help stagger when EVs charge, for example.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While some utilities have struggled to interest customers in virtual power plants, representatives of Sunrun think they know how to explain the technology and enroll people. Customers pay no upfront costs to install solar and batteries on their homes. Instead, they contribute a monthly payment. Sunrun manages the software that connects equipment and the logistics of being part of the virtual power plant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sunrun’s Chris Rauscher said their biggest dispatch this year was “enough to power the city of Santa Monica during the evening peak.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1996574\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1996574\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VirtualPowerPlant-14-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VirtualPowerPlant-14-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VirtualPowerPlant-14-BL_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VirtualPowerPlant-14-BL_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VirtualPowerPlant-14-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VirtualPowerPlant-14-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VirtualPowerPlant-14-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250321-VirtualPowerPlant-14-BL_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ivan Israel Amezcua (left) and Ramon Heredia stand inside the garage of their all-electric home in Richmond on March 21, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>However, researchers warn that significant barriers, both technological and behavioral, stand in the way of growing virtual power plants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The scaling is really hard,” said Ram Rajagopal, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford University, adding that virtual power plants are less reliable than natural gas generators.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Israel Amezcua and Heredia moved into a home with gadgets ready to switch on, most people would need to upgrade their existing appliances and electric system to participate in a virtual power plant. Increasing the amount of electricity a panel can handle could cost thousands of dollars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Even if it is economically viable for you to adopt it, there’s so many barriers: financing and installation and the panel upgrades, utility approvals, going through all these hoops just demotivates people,” Rajagopal said.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>To succeed, Rajagopal said federal electric codes need updating. “If you’re clearly connecting things that are flexible to your panel, you shouldn’t be required to do panel upgrades.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Duncan Callaway, professor of energy and resources at UC Berkeley, said the technology helped keep the lights on during an extreme heatwave in September 2022 when California’s grid nearly shut down and caused blackouts. Utilities controlled the energy use of appliances remotely, which some would call a virtual power plant. Callaway said utilities have done so for decades, and, before the internet, they used radio signals to turn down air conditioners en masse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He is not yet “convinced that this is a new idea versus taking an old idea and just wrapping it into a cool name that you can get funding for.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And the issues utilities faced decades ago remain. “Folks are very reluctant to have somebody else controlling how much electricity they consume,” Callaway said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When they moved into their home, Israel Amezcua and Heredia bought new pots and pans that work with their induction stove, which requires magnetic materials like iron or steel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I never thought I was going to pay that much for my pans,” Heredia joked, adding that their food tastes better now than before. “This house opened up the opportunity to live differently and to get a better quality of life.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That includes paying no gas bill and $11 monthly for electricity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12002735/mapa-apagones-actuales-de-pge-en-el-norte-de-california\">Leer en español\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mouse over or click points on the map below to see all of PG&E’s current power outages, planned or otherwise, along with the number of customers impacted, the cause (if listed), and estimated time of restoration. Zoom in on each location to see a rough approximation of power outage areas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Click the layers button at the top left of the map to see total number of outages per county.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All data \u003ca href=\"https://pgealerts.alerts.pge.com/outages/map/\">comes from PG&E\u003c/a>, via the \u003ca href=\"https://gis.data.ca.gov/datasets/CalEMA::power-outage-incidents/about\">California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES)\u003c/a>, and is updated every 15 minutes. Any planned safety outages, known as Public Safety Power Outages (PSPS), will be specifically labeled on the map when they occur.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The map also includes current power outage incidents reported by the state’s other major utilities, including Southern California Edison, San Diego Gas and Electric, Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) and the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power. The map does not include smaller, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11747148/map-public-power-providers-in-california\">locally owned utilities\u003c/a> such as those in Palo Alto and Alameda.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv style=\"width: 100%; height: 100%;\" align=\"center\">\n\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://kqednews.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/basic/index.html?appid=a04a97b02e764b5e94905acaaecf2edc\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border:0\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "A map of the latest power outages in the Bay Area and beyond, displayed by incident and outage area, and per county.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12002735/mapa-apagones-actuales-de-pge-en-el-norte-de-california\">Leer en español\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mouse over or click points on the map below to see all of PG&E’s current power outages, planned or otherwise, along with the number of customers impacted, the cause (if listed), and estimated time of restoration. Zoom in on each location to see a rough approximation of power outage areas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Click the layers button at the top left of the map to see total number of outages per county.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All data \u003ca href=\"https://pgealerts.alerts.pge.com/outages/map/\">comes from PG&E\u003c/a>, via the \u003ca href=\"https://gis.data.ca.gov/datasets/CalEMA::power-outage-incidents/about\">California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES)\u003c/a>, and is updated every 15 minutes. Any planned safety outages, known as Public Safety Power Outages (PSPS), will be specifically labeled on the map when they occur.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The map also includes current power outage incidents reported by the state’s other major utilities, including Southern California Edison, San Diego Gas and Electric, Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) and the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power. The map does not include smaller, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11747148/map-public-power-providers-in-california\">locally owned utilities\u003c/a> such as those in Palo Alto and Alameda.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv style=\"width: 100%; height: 100%;\" align=\"center\">\n\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://kqednews.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/basic/index.html?appid=a04a97b02e764b5e94905acaaecf2edc\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border:0\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "PG&E Wants to Pull the Plug on Electrification Project at CSU Monterey Bay",
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"content": "\u003cp>The lines sprawl below ground unnoticed, starting out large, then branching like limbs of a tree, reaching nearly every home. We pay for them, and we probably never think about them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For most Californians, the maze of gas pipelines beneath our feet allows us to heat our homes and water, dry our clothes and cook our food. But all these functions can be done another way, too: with electricity. And maintaining two systems — gas and electric — is costly and incompatible with California’s climate goals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So what if we could consolidate these systems, particularly in a way that would save ratepayers and utilities money?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2022, PG&E proposed a project that would do just that in roughly 400 campus apartments for students and their families at Cal State Monterey Bay. The project would be the largest of its kind in California, and likely the U.S., to date, and PG&E’s first neighborhood-scale electrification initiative.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In their application, the utility wrote that the project “represents a unique opportunity to address customer safety needs, long-term rate affordability, customer energy preference, and alignment with California’s climate goals,” in other words, a win-win-win-win.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, people involved in the project were dumbfounded when the utility abruptly scrapped the project early this year, citing time pressure, unknown costs to address toxic asbestos in some buildings, and disagreements over how it would be financed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E representatives wrote that it was “reluctantly terminating” the project. “There remains too great a divide in parties’ perspectives on core project details that PG&E views as essential for success.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995544\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995544\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00458_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00458_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00458_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00458_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00458_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00458_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00458_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00458_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A view of the East Campus housing development of California State University at Monterey Bay, with power lines in the background, in Marina, California, on Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995545\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995545\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2500\" height=\"833\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-800x267.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-1020x340.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-160x53.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-768x256.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-1536x512.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-2048x682.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-1920x640.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Left: A sign directs visitors to the East Campus housing office of California State University, Monterey Bay, in Marina. Right: A laundromat for residents of East Campus housing. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But the turn came as a “complete surprise,” said Hayley Goodson, a managing attorney at The Utility Reform Network, one of the project stakeholders. “PG&E has been saying for years that it costs less for gas ratepayers to do the electrification project.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Goodson said the reasons PG&E cited for dropping the project have all been known for months and argued it came down to financials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E is a heavily regulated monopoly owned by investors. One of the ways it makes a return for shareholders is on capital investments — long-lasting physical infrastructure it owns and maintains, like gas pipelines, transformers and power lines. The utility can recoup the costs of these, plus an extra percentage of that cost from their customers, which is wrapped into monthly bills.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995543\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995543\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250128_Hayley-Goodson_DB_00012_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250128_Hayley-Goodson_DB_00012_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250128_Hayley-Goodson_DB_00012_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250128_Hayley-Goodson_DB_00012_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250128_Hayley-Goodson_DB_00012_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250128_Hayley-Goodson_DB_00012_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250128_Hayley-Goodson_DB_00012_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250128_Hayley-Goodson_DB_00012_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Hayley Goodson, a managing attorney with The Utility Reform Network (TURN), poses for a portrait in the organization’s office in Oakland on Jan. 28, 2025. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>However, the appliances at CSU Monterey Bay would not be owned or maintained by PG&E. They would be property of the university, even though the utility would initially buy and install them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E wanted to pay for the project through its capital budget, and while some stakeholders agreed, others pushed back, asking for the costs of electric appliances to come from the utility’s operating expense budget. This would mean they would recover the costs and break even, but there would be no additional profit for shareholders.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s hard not to think that PG&E just doesn’t want to do the right thing for its ratepayers if they can’t earn a profit from it,” Goodson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CSU Monterey Bay spokesperson Walter Ryce said PG&E notified the university it was withdrawing the application the same week it informed the California Public Utilities Commission. The project “was set to be fully funded by PG&E, and the university does not have funding to pursue a gas replacement project on its own.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Two systems, rising costs\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The idea of “pruning” the gas system is not new. Since 2018, PG&E has executed more than a hundred of these projects, ripping out old pipelines while covering the costs to electrify the homes and businesses affected.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Picture a 2-mile gas line in need of repair, winding its way to just two homes. It’s typically cheaper for PG&E, and therefore their ratepayers, if the company pays to fully electrify customers on these lines and retire rather than replace them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995546\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995546\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00504_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00504_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00504_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00504_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00504_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00504_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00504_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00504_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">PG&E is withdrawing an ambitious plan to electrify the East Campus Housing development of California State University, Monterey Bay, at a community scale, seen here in Marina, California, on Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Shrinking California’s natural gas system is an objective of \u003ca href=\"https://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Published/G000/M542/K040/542040675.PDF\">state regulators\u003c/a>, as well. The CPUC published a \u003ca href=\"https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/news-and-updates/all-news/cpuc-creates-new-framework-to-advance-california-transition-away-from-natural-gas\">framework\u003c/a> to transition away from natural gas to benefit the climate and avoid spending on infrastructure that will be obsolete before the end of its useful life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The majority of the state’s electricity, \u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.ca.gov/news/2024-05/new-data-shows-investments-build-californias-clean-energy-grid-future-are-paying\">61%\u003c/a>, comes from sources that create no planet-warming pollution, such as renewables, hydropower, and nuclear.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The alternative to a managed transition away from gas would be a haphazard one, which would lead to higher bills for those who still use gas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If nearly an entire street wants to go all-electric, except for just one home, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1992348/is-it-time-for-an-essential-california-energy-code-to-get-a-climate-edit\">utilities interpret California code\u003c/a> to mean they must maintain the whole pipeline serving that street.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995549\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995549\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2500\" height=\"833\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-1.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-1-800x267.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-1-1020x340.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-1-160x53.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-1-768x256.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-1-1536x512.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-1-2048x682.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-1-1920x640.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Homes and businesses powered by gas are connected through a lattice of pipelines beneath the street (left). Electrifying a neighborhood means capping a gas line and replacing the gas-fueled appliances with electric ones (right). \u003ccite>(Anna Vignet/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As more middle- and high-income people and homeowners switch to electricity, fewer people are left paying for the largely fixed costs of gas infrastructure. That leaves lower-income people and renters, who are less likely to electrify, on the hook for the cost of the gas system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California took a small step toward addressing this issue with a law that will allow 30 communities to go all-electric with just two-thirds of residents’ consent. These are pilots, though, and will kick off in 2026 at the earliest.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A special project\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The CSU Monterey Bay project would likely have saved ratepayers money.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Purchasing and installing electric appliances for roughly 400 homes saved about \u003ca href=\"https://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Efile/G000/M500/K435/500435462.PDF\">$2.45\u003c/a> million over replacing about 8 miles of gas pipelines, PG&E estimated in its project application to the CPUC.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a unicorn,” said the Natural Resources Defense Council’s Kiki Velez, who leads initiatives transitioning away from gas for the organization. “You have a big project that could likely deliver a lot of cost savings and emissions reductions. You have one willing customer.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a 2022 article published by the university, then Sustainability Director Lacey Raak said it made sense not to invest in gas infrastructure. “It would be like buying a fax machine in 1999,” Raak said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>The clock ticks\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Time can be a major impediment when you set out to electrify a whole neighborhood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You want to be targeting pipelines that are close to the end of their lifetime because that’s a better deal for ratepayers,” said Beckie Menten, California director at the Building Decarbonization Coalition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead of replacing them with a pipeline that may be retired before its useful, sometimes \u003ca href=\"https://www.pge.com/en/about/pge-systems/gas-systems.html#accordion-2076aa78e1-item-4eb56cb1f4\">100-year-long\u003c/a> life, or before it’s slowly paid off, you convert the associated homes to rely on electricity instead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Identifying a pipeline almost ready for replacement “sets a clock,” she said. “You have a certain number of years to not only get approval for the project, but to also implement the project before the safety concern becomes a risk.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995551\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995551\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00487_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00487_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00487_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00487_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00487_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00487_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00487_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00487_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An advisory sign warns of high-voltage electricity near the East Campus housing development of California State University, Monterey Bay, in Marina, California, on Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>PG&E’s \u003ca href=\"https://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Efile/G000/M496/K451/496451495.PDF\">initial application (PDF)\u003c/a> asked the CPUC for approval by the summer of 2023, saying the utility would need to replace the gas lines from 2022–25 to ensure future “safe, reliable gas service.” In recent filings, PG&E wrote that it’d need the pipelines replaced by the end of 2026. The utility was still waiting for a decision in early 2025.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Failing to replace aging pipelines can lead to \u003ca href=\"https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2015/09/methane-pipeline-replacement-090915#:~:text=In%20contrast%2C%20Manhattan%20still%20has,Stanford%20University%20funded%20the%20research.\">gas leaks\u003c/a> and cause dangerous explosions. One of PG&E’s most notorious disasters was a blast and resulting fire in San Bruno in 2010, which killed eight people. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/10667274/five-years-after-deadly-san-bruno-explosion-are-we-safer#:~:text=If%20any%20line%20in%20the,quality%20control%20failed%20to%20detect.\">The cause was a poorly welded pipeline of a very old pipe\u003c/a> and inadequate pipeline management.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The CSU Monterey Bay project stalled for a year after the school changed its chief financial officer. Then, campus officials found asbestos in the buildings, which could lead to health risks if disturbed during construction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, project stakeholders argued over how PG&E should expense the new electric appliances.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some stakeholders, including the Sierra Club, supported PG&E’s proposal to allow it to use capital funds and, therefore, make a profit in this case. Attorney Matt Vespa said the incentives to make climate-friendly electrification choices aren’t there yet for utilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If a gas company just replaces a pipeline and basically locks in fossil fuel infrastructure for decades at a pretty high cost, they make money. But if they avoid that and do a climate solution that benefits public health, air quality and the climate by electrifying, they actually don’t make any money at all,” Vespa said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995542\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1995542 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/250130-CSUMB-01-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/250130-CSUMB-01-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/250130-CSUMB-01-BL_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/250130-CSUMB-01-BL_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/250130-CSUMB-01-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/250130-CSUMB-01-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/250130-CSUMB-01-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/250130-CSUMB-01-BL_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Matt Vespa, a senior attorney with Earthjustice, sits on the counter at his home in San Francisco on Jan. 30, 2025, next to a newly installed induction stove. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Other groups, including TURN, scoffed at PG&E’s proposed way to finance the project and said the utility would still be able to recover its costs. “What we’re talking about is whether they should earn a bonus on these activities. We don’t think that that bonus is necessary or appropriate,” Goodson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A PG&E spokesperson told KQED that the utility joins “with TURN in advocating for the safe and reliable delivery of energy for PG&E customers. This includes the replacement of pipeline for safety reasons when necessary.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The debate was not atypical for a project like this, and in December, parties were coming to agreements on issues they’d argued over. How PG&E would finance the project was unresolved and would be put to the CPUC.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But PG&E withdrew its application before it could, and with it, hopes for the largest neighborhood electrification project in the U.S. to date.[aside label=\"Related Stories\" postID=\"news_12023805,news_11983675,news_11981173\"]“They are hoping to walk away with no consequences,” said Michael Colvin, director of regulatory and legislative affairs for the Environmental Defense Fund. “Promises were made to the university, promises were made to the residents of the university housing, promises were made to the rest of their customers to say we know how to do zonal electrification and we can be part of an example.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Colvin said other utilities around the country were watching the CSU Monterey Bay project and may not attempt similar projects if this one collapses. “There is a ripple effect outside of Monterey Bay and outside of California,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several stakeholders have responded to PG&E’s withdrawal, calling for the CPUC to reject it or at least hold the utility to some account.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Will student housing at the school’s East Campus be the vision of a campus electrified, as the school paper once touted? The question will be answered in the coming months.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Regardless, Menten of the Building Decarbonization Coalition said this doesn’t mean neighborhood-scale electrification won’t be in California’s future, just that this project came too early.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“PG&E was trying to be innovative. They were trying to push the envelope,” said Menten, “but they were a little bit ahead of where the CPUC was.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"title": "PG&E Wants to Pull the Plug on Electrification Project at CSU Monterey Bay | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The lines sprawl below ground unnoticed, starting out large, then branching like limbs of a tree, reaching nearly every home. We pay for them, and we probably never think about them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For most Californians, the maze of gas pipelines beneath our feet allows us to heat our homes and water, dry our clothes and cook our food. But all these functions can be done another way, too: with electricity. And maintaining two systems — gas and electric — is costly and incompatible with California’s climate goals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So what if we could consolidate these systems, particularly in a way that would save ratepayers and utilities money?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2022, PG&E proposed a project that would do just that in roughly 400 campus apartments for students and their families at Cal State Monterey Bay. The project would be the largest of its kind in California, and likely the U.S., to date, and PG&E’s first neighborhood-scale electrification initiative.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In their application, the utility wrote that the project “represents a unique opportunity to address customer safety needs, long-term rate affordability, customer energy preference, and alignment with California’s climate goals,” in other words, a win-win-win-win.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, people involved in the project were dumbfounded when the utility abruptly scrapped the project early this year, citing time pressure, unknown costs to address toxic asbestos in some buildings, and disagreements over how it would be financed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E representatives wrote that it was “reluctantly terminating” the project. “There remains too great a divide in parties’ perspectives on core project details that PG&E views as essential for success.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995544\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995544\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00458_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00458_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00458_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00458_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00458_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00458_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00458_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00458_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A view of the East Campus housing development of California State University at Monterey Bay, with power lines in the background, in Marina, California, on Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995545\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995545\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2500\" height=\"833\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-800x267.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-1020x340.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-160x53.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-768x256.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-1536x512.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-2048x682.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-1920x640.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Left: A sign directs visitors to the East Campus housing office of California State University, Monterey Bay, in Marina. Right: A laundromat for residents of East Campus housing. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But the turn came as a “complete surprise,” said Hayley Goodson, a managing attorney at The Utility Reform Network, one of the project stakeholders. “PG&E has been saying for years that it costs less for gas ratepayers to do the electrification project.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Goodson said the reasons PG&E cited for dropping the project have all been known for months and argued it came down to financials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E is a heavily regulated monopoly owned by investors. One of the ways it makes a return for shareholders is on capital investments — long-lasting physical infrastructure it owns and maintains, like gas pipelines, transformers and power lines. The utility can recoup the costs of these, plus an extra percentage of that cost from their customers, which is wrapped into monthly bills.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995543\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995543\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250128_Hayley-Goodson_DB_00012_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250128_Hayley-Goodson_DB_00012_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250128_Hayley-Goodson_DB_00012_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250128_Hayley-Goodson_DB_00012_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250128_Hayley-Goodson_DB_00012_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250128_Hayley-Goodson_DB_00012_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250128_Hayley-Goodson_DB_00012_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250128_Hayley-Goodson_DB_00012_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Hayley Goodson, a managing attorney with The Utility Reform Network (TURN), poses for a portrait in the organization’s office in Oakland on Jan. 28, 2025. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>However, the appliances at CSU Monterey Bay would not be owned or maintained by PG&E. They would be property of the university, even though the utility would initially buy and install them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E wanted to pay for the project through its capital budget, and while some stakeholders agreed, others pushed back, asking for the costs of electric appliances to come from the utility’s operating expense budget. This would mean they would recover the costs and break even, but there would be no additional profit for shareholders.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s hard not to think that PG&E just doesn’t want to do the right thing for its ratepayers if they can’t earn a profit from it,” Goodson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CSU Monterey Bay spokesperson Walter Ryce said PG&E notified the university it was withdrawing the application the same week it informed the California Public Utilities Commission. The project “was set to be fully funded by PG&E, and the university does not have funding to pursue a gas replacement project on its own.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Two systems, rising costs\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The idea of “pruning” the gas system is not new. Since 2018, PG&E has executed more than a hundred of these projects, ripping out old pipelines while covering the costs to electrify the homes and businesses affected.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Picture a 2-mile gas line in need of repair, winding its way to just two homes. It’s typically cheaper for PG&E, and therefore their ratepayers, if the company pays to fully electrify customers on these lines and retire rather than replace them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995546\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995546\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00504_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00504_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00504_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00504_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00504_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00504_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00504_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00504_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">PG&E is withdrawing an ambitious plan to electrify the East Campus Housing development of California State University, Monterey Bay, at a community scale, seen here in Marina, California, on Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Shrinking California’s natural gas system is an objective of \u003ca href=\"https://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Published/G000/M542/K040/542040675.PDF\">state regulators\u003c/a>, as well. The CPUC published a \u003ca href=\"https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/news-and-updates/all-news/cpuc-creates-new-framework-to-advance-california-transition-away-from-natural-gas\">framework\u003c/a> to transition away from natural gas to benefit the climate and avoid spending on infrastructure that will be obsolete before the end of its useful life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The majority of the state’s electricity, \u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.ca.gov/news/2024-05/new-data-shows-investments-build-californias-clean-energy-grid-future-are-paying\">61%\u003c/a>, comes from sources that create no planet-warming pollution, such as renewables, hydropower, and nuclear.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The alternative to a managed transition away from gas would be a haphazard one, which would lead to higher bills for those who still use gas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If nearly an entire street wants to go all-electric, except for just one home, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1992348/is-it-time-for-an-essential-california-energy-code-to-get-a-climate-edit\">utilities interpret California code\u003c/a> to mean they must maintain the whole pipeline serving that street.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995549\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995549\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2500\" height=\"833\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-1.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-1-800x267.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-1-1020x340.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-1-160x53.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-1-768x256.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-1-1536x512.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-1-2048x682.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-1-1920x640.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Homes and businesses powered by gas are connected through a lattice of pipelines beneath the street (left). Electrifying a neighborhood means capping a gas line and replacing the gas-fueled appliances with electric ones (right). \u003ccite>(Anna Vignet/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As more middle- and high-income people and homeowners switch to electricity, fewer people are left paying for the largely fixed costs of gas infrastructure. That leaves lower-income people and renters, who are less likely to electrify, on the hook for the cost of the gas system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California took a small step toward addressing this issue with a law that will allow 30 communities to go all-electric with just two-thirds of residents’ consent. These are pilots, though, and will kick off in 2026 at the earliest.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A special project\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The CSU Monterey Bay project would likely have saved ratepayers money.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Purchasing and installing electric appliances for roughly 400 homes saved about \u003ca href=\"https://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Efile/G000/M500/K435/500435462.PDF\">$2.45\u003c/a> million over replacing about 8 miles of gas pipelines, PG&E estimated in its project application to the CPUC.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a unicorn,” said the Natural Resources Defense Council’s Kiki Velez, who leads initiatives transitioning away from gas for the organization. “You have a big project that could likely deliver a lot of cost savings and emissions reductions. You have one willing customer.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a 2022 article published by the university, then Sustainability Director Lacey Raak said it made sense not to invest in gas infrastructure. “It would be like buying a fax machine in 1999,” Raak said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>The clock ticks\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Time can be a major impediment when you set out to electrify a whole neighborhood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You want to be targeting pipelines that are close to the end of their lifetime because that’s a better deal for ratepayers,” said Beckie Menten, California director at the Building Decarbonization Coalition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead of replacing them with a pipeline that may be retired before its useful, sometimes \u003ca href=\"https://www.pge.com/en/about/pge-systems/gas-systems.html#accordion-2076aa78e1-item-4eb56cb1f4\">100-year-long\u003c/a> life, or before it’s slowly paid off, you convert the associated homes to rely on electricity instead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Identifying a pipeline almost ready for replacement “sets a clock,” she said. “You have a certain number of years to not only get approval for the project, but to also implement the project before the safety concern becomes a risk.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995551\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995551\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00487_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00487_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00487_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00487_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00487_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00487_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00487_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00487_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An advisory sign warns of high-voltage electricity near the East Campus housing development of California State University, Monterey Bay, in Marina, California, on Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>PG&E’s \u003ca href=\"https://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Efile/G000/M496/K451/496451495.PDF\">initial application (PDF)\u003c/a> asked the CPUC for approval by the summer of 2023, saying the utility would need to replace the gas lines from 2022–25 to ensure future “safe, reliable gas service.” In recent filings, PG&E wrote that it’d need the pipelines replaced by the end of 2026. The utility was still waiting for a decision in early 2025.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Failing to replace aging pipelines can lead to \u003ca href=\"https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2015/09/methane-pipeline-replacement-090915#:~:text=In%20contrast%2C%20Manhattan%20still%20has,Stanford%20University%20funded%20the%20research.\">gas leaks\u003c/a> and cause dangerous explosions. One of PG&E’s most notorious disasters was a blast and resulting fire in San Bruno in 2010, which killed eight people. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/10667274/five-years-after-deadly-san-bruno-explosion-are-we-safer#:~:text=If%20any%20line%20in%20the,quality%20control%20failed%20to%20detect.\">The cause was a poorly welded pipeline of a very old pipe\u003c/a> and inadequate pipeline management.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The CSU Monterey Bay project stalled for a year after the school changed its chief financial officer. Then, campus officials found asbestos in the buildings, which could lead to health risks if disturbed during construction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, project stakeholders argued over how PG&E should expense the new electric appliances.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some stakeholders, including the Sierra Club, supported PG&E’s proposal to allow it to use capital funds and, therefore, make a profit in this case. Attorney Matt Vespa said the incentives to make climate-friendly electrification choices aren’t there yet for utilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If a gas company just replaces a pipeline and basically locks in fossil fuel infrastructure for decades at a pretty high cost, they make money. But if they avoid that and do a climate solution that benefits public health, air quality and the climate by electrifying, they actually don’t make any money at all,” Vespa said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995542\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1995542 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/250130-CSUMB-01-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/250130-CSUMB-01-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/250130-CSUMB-01-BL_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/250130-CSUMB-01-BL_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/250130-CSUMB-01-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/250130-CSUMB-01-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/250130-CSUMB-01-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/250130-CSUMB-01-BL_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Matt Vespa, a senior attorney with Earthjustice, sits on the counter at his home in San Francisco on Jan. 30, 2025, next to a newly installed induction stove. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Other groups, including TURN, scoffed at PG&E’s proposed way to finance the project and said the utility would still be able to recover its costs. “What we’re talking about is whether they should earn a bonus on these activities. We don’t think that that bonus is necessary or appropriate,” Goodson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A PG&E spokesperson told KQED that the utility joins “with TURN in advocating for the safe and reliable delivery of energy for PG&E customers. This includes the replacement of pipeline for safety reasons when necessary.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The debate was not atypical for a project like this, and in December, parties were coming to agreements on issues they’d argued over. How PG&E would finance the project was unresolved and would be put to the CPUC.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But PG&E withdrew its application before it could, and with it, hopes for the largest neighborhood electrification project in the U.S. to date.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“They are hoping to walk away with no consequences,” said Michael Colvin, director of regulatory and legislative affairs for the Environmental Defense Fund. “Promises were made to the university, promises were made to the residents of the university housing, promises were made to the rest of their customers to say we know how to do zonal electrification and we can be part of an example.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Colvin said other utilities around the country were watching the CSU Monterey Bay project and may not attempt similar projects if this one collapses. “There is a ripple effect outside of Monterey Bay and outside of California,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several stakeholders have responded to PG&E’s withdrawal, calling for the CPUC to reject it or at least hold the utility to some account.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Will student housing at the school’s East Campus be the vision of a campus electrified, as the school paper once touted? The question will be answered in the coming months.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Regardless, Menten of the Building Decarbonization Coalition said this doesn’t mean neighborhood-scale electrification won’t be in California’s future, just that this project came too early.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“PG&E was trying to be innovative. They were trying to push the envelope,” said Menten, “but they were a little bit ahead of where the CPUC was.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"tagline": "The flip side of gentrification, told through one town",
"info": "Gentrification is changing cities across America, forcing people from neighborhoods they have long called home. Call them the displaced. Now those priced out of the Bay Area are looking for a better life in an unlikely place. American Suburb follows this migration to one California town along the Delta, 45 miles from San Francisco. But is this once sleepy suburb ready for them?",
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"tagline": "Exploring the Bay Area, one question at a time",
"info": "KQED’s new podcast, Bay Curious, gets to the bottom of the mysteries — both profound and peculiar — that give the Bay Area its unique identity. And we’ll do it with your help! You ask the questions. You decide what Bay Curious investigates. And you join us on the journey to find the answers.",
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"info": "KQED’s statewide radio news program providing daily coverage of issues, trends and public policy decisions.",
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"order": 8
},
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},
"link": "https://www.cityarts.net",
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"order": 1
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"id": "commonwealth-club",
"title": "Commonwealth Club of California Podcast",
"info": "The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.",
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"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Commonwealth-Club-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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"source": "Commonwealth Club of California"
},
"link": "/radio/program/commonwealth-club",
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},
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"info": "KQED’s live call-in program discussing local, state, national and international issues, as well as in-depth interviews.",
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"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Forum-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"order": 9
},
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"meta": {
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},
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},
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"id": "fresh-air",
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"hidden-brain": {
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"source": "NPR"
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"airtime": "SUN 7:30pm-8pm",
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"link": "/radio/program/how-i-built-this",
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"hyphenacion": {
"id": "hyphenacion",
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"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
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"jerrybrown": {
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"title": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"tagline": "Lessons from a lifetime in politics",
"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
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"order": 18
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},
"latino-usa": {
"id": "latino-usa",
"title": "Latino USA",
"airtime": "MON 1am-2am, SUN 6pm-7pm",
"info": "Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/latinoUsa.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://latinousa.org/",
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},
"marketplace": {
"id": "marketplace",
"title": "Marketplace",
"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marketplace-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.marketplace.org/",
"meta": {
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"source": "American Public Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/marketplace",
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},
"masters-of-scale": {
"id": "masters-of-scale",
"title": "Masters of Scale",
"info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.",
"airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://mastersofscale.com/",
"meta": {
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"source": "WaitWhat"
},
"link": "/radio/program/masters-of-scale",
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"rss": "https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale"
}
},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
"title": "MindShift",
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"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
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