Former Energy Commissioner Explains Why California Electricity Rates Nearly Double National Average

PG&E transmission lines cross through mountain terrain in Mendocino County in Northern California. Travis Gillmore/The Epoch TimesElectricity rates in California are roughly twice the national average and are likely to keep climbing. A former state energy commissioner recently detailed the many factors behind this trend.Since the late 1980s, California residents have paid as much as 10 percent more for electricity than the national average, according to the Public Policy Institute of California. However, energy rates have surged in recent years, from about 33 percent higher in 2015 to as much as 80 percent more than the national average in 2024.