Posted on by Californiacontrarian

Guess Who?

When President Trump pulled the U.S. out of the Paris Accords ( you know that treaty that really wasn’t a treaty), who was one of the first to go into ‘attack-mode’?                                                                                                                               Take a guess!

Why of course it was none other than California’s governor, Jerry Brown, who did not wait long before saying, “Trump is AWOL, but California is on the field, ready for battle”. This is the same Jerry Brown who signed SB 32, which by 2030 targets a goal of 40% of the 1998 greenhouse gas emissions. Who ignores the effects of SB32 on businesses in California?                                                 Take a guess!

Why it is the same uber liberal Governor Brown!  Because of SB32, some business groups have already raised concerns. Allan Zaremberg, president of the state’s Chamber of Commerce, said the law doesn’t require “regulatory agencies to give any consideration to the impacts on our economy, disruptions in everyone’s daily lives or the fact that California’s population will grow.” High energy costs have already driven some businesses out of the state, as businesses that have benefited from Climate-Change are subsidized, like Tesla.

While I do not agree with our liberal governor’s thinking on green energy, is there any data to back up either point of view?

The best prediction of what is going to happen in California is to look at the energy situation in Germany, which made a commitment to green energy many years ago. Keep in mind that the people in Germany are as clueless as the people in California when it comes to the costs of green energy. In a recent survey 37% of Germans had no idea of how much they paid for their power consumption. So pay attention, Californians, while I inform you as to what is happening in Germany with energy costs, as this is what you can anticipate in the near future. In Germany the cost of electricity has gone up considerably. Who do you think is paying for this green energy?                                                      Take a guess!

In Germany the price for power for a family of three is 68% above the price in 1998, as the surcharge for renewable energy has risen 10-fold in that same period. This surcharge is essentially the higher cost for green energy that grid operators pass on to their customers. These customers who are tasked with this rising surcharge are ordinary families – not the ‘energy intensive industries’, which in Germany (and probably also in California in the future) are exempt in order not to damage their international competitiveness. Electrical bills in Germany are about equal to bills in the U.S., despite the fact that Germans use about 1/3 as much energy as Americans – in other words Germans now pay about 3X as much for their energy compared to us.

Keeping in mind that some Germans now consider electricity to be “somewhat of a luxury”, think about who will be hurt the most in California by the rising cost of electricity.                                                                                                                          Take a guess!

In keeping with a familiar theme of mine, the answer, of course, is that the poor will be hurt the most. Why?

Which group of people can afford to install their own solar panels?                           Take a guess!

Who can afford to install new energy efficient windows and doors?                        Take a guess!

Who can install new insulation to keep their power bills low?                              Take a guess!

It is the rich/upper middle class that can afford these measures, and so they will continue to pay lower energy bills. However, when the cost of electricity accelerates who do you think will pay for this expensive green electricity? Take a guess! – Obviously not the rich.

Which present 79 year old governor will probably be dead when these expensive green energy costs hit the fan?                                                                      Take a guess!

 

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