Starting in 2024, the electric bills of most Californians could be based not only on how much power they use, but also on how much money they make. Those who have higher incomes would pay more; those with lower incomes would see their electric bills decline.
A law passed last year in California requires state utility regulators to devise a plan for charging customers income-based fixed fees as part of their electric bills by July 2024. If California goes ahead with this plan, it would be the first state to enact such a change.
The income-based billing concept has provoked strong debate as advocates and opponents argue over whether such a measure would encourage or discourage adoption of sustainable technologies such as solar panels backed with battery systems, electric vehicles, and heat pumps. Opponents include supporters of green technology who fear such a change would discourage customers from investing in new technology to reduce their electricity usage, according to a report in Grist. They say higher costs spur more people to use electricity more efficiently.
Supporters of income-based electric bills say just the opposite: reducing utility costs for lower income individuals could actually encourage them to use the savings from lower bills to install heat pumps and buy EVs.
A key point in the debate revolves around cost related to things that are not linked to usage such as burying electric supply lines to reduce wildfires. Such expenditures are passed on to all customers regardless of the amount of power they consume.
Both sides can agree on one thing: customers are already fed up with rates that have been rising at three times the rate of inflation in recent years. And, escalating electric bills are almost a certainty in the foreseeable future.
Related Stories
Multifamily Housing | Feb 25, 2022
First set of multifamily properties achieve BREEAM certification in the U.S.
WashREIT says it has achieved certification on eight multifamily assets under BREEAM’s In-Use certification standard.
Multifamily Housing | Feb 24, 2022
First new, mixed-use high-rise in Detroit’s central business district in nearly 30 years opens
City Club Apartments completed two multifamily projects in 2021 in downtown Detroit including the first new, mixed-use high-rise in Detroit’s central business district in nearly 30 years.
Codes and Standards | Feb 21, 2022
More bad news on sea level rise for U.S. coastal areas
A new government report predicts sea levels in the U.S. of 10 to 12 inches higher by 2050, with some major cities on the East and Gulf coasts experiencing damaging floods even on sunny days.
Urban Planning | Feb 14, 2022
5 steps to remake suburbs into green communities where people want to live, work, and play
Stantec's John Bachmann offers proven tactic for retrofitting communities for success in the post-COVID era.
Senior Living Design | Feb 11, 2022
Design for senior living: A chat with Rocky Berg, AIA
Rob Cassidy, Editor of MULTIFAMILY Design + Construction, chats with Rocky Berg, AIA, Principal with Dallas architecture firm three, about how to design senior living communities to meet the needs of the owner, seniors, their families, and staff.
Multifamily Housing | Feb 8, 2022
Suffolk to build Alba Palm Beach
The project will feature 55 residences.
| Feb 4, 2022
New apartment complex Dixon Place honors the history of Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City’s Sugar House neighborhood has been experiencing somewhat of a renaissance as of late, and the opening of new apartment community Dixon Place continues that trend. MVE + Partners took leadership in the design of the 59-unit, Class A development.
Sponsored | Steel Buildings | Jan 25, 2022
Multifamily + Hospitality: Benefits of building in long-span composite floor systems
Long-span composite floor systems provide unique advantages in the construction of multi-family and hospitality facilities. This introductory course explains what composite deck is, how it works, what typical composite deck profiles look like and provides guidelines for using composite floor systems. This is a nano unit course.
Multifamily Housing | Jan 20, 2022
Texas’ first cohousing residential community breaks ground in East End Houston
The design will include sustainability elements.
Coronavirus | Jan 20, 2022
Advances and challenges in improving indoor air quality in commercial buildings
Michael Dreidger, CEO of IAQ tech startup Airsset speaks with BD+C's John Caulfield about how building owners and property managers can improve their buildings' air quality.
