San Diego’s Energy District Foundation is pushing for greater local control of energy production—and ultimately for the 100% renewable energy target in a 2010 regional plan.
The Foundation formed to fight a solar “network usage fee” proposed by San Diego Gas and Electric in 2011, similar to the monthly charge recently introduce in Wisconsin. SDG&E dropped the fee, but the Foundation didn’t stop there.
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“The interest in local control over energy purchases is rooted in the inherent conflict of interest between ratepayers and their existing for-profit utility,” writes Farrell, Director of Energy Self-Reliant States and Communities at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance.
“Utilities in California make money by investing in hardware (power plants, power lines, and the like) and not finding the cleanest, lowest-cost power for their ratepayers. In part, this is because taxpayers pick up the tab for pollution from fossil fuels. A public entity is more likely to incorporate those externalities.”
