Severin Borenstein

What Will Data Centers Do To Your Electric Bill? The threat of increased rates is real, but good policy can bring lower prices as demand grows. Electricity has recently replaced eggs, beef, and gasoline as the inflation concern du jour. Reporters…

My EI blog post today on how data center demand growth may drive up elec prices in near term, but managed well, should help lower retail price. Regulators must assure data centers reduce demand when grid is strained and pay fair share of system fixed costs.
energyathaas.wordpress.com/2025/09/29/w...

Utility Regulation Really Sucks Podcast Episode · Shift Key with Robinson Meyer and Jesse Jenkins · 09/10/2025 · 1h 7m

Outstanding episode of Shift Key. Jesse Jenkins & Rob Meyer explain transmission & distribution remain regulated monopolies and challenges regulating them. Only quibble with idea incentive regulation substantially improves outcomes. It creates its own distortions.
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/u...

Reining in California’s Runaway Electricity Rates We’ve led the nation in rate hikes. Now we’re test-driving some affordability fixes. National headlines are warning of an energy affordability crisis, with electricity rates cast as a primary culpr…

In the Energy Institute blog, Meredith Fowlie is out today with an important analysis of California's legislative accomplishments on electricity affordability as the session wrapped up last week.
energyathaas.wordpress.com/2025/09/15/r...
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Column | Can’t put solar panels on your roof? Plug-in ‘balcony solar’ may be for you. Balcony solar promises to cut energy costs and grid reliance for renters and apartment-dwellers. I did a trial run at my home.

Lots of balcony solar discussion these days. Interesting idea but price in US is still much higher than grid scale. At 3% discount rate and 15% cap fac, the 200W system mentioned has LCOE of $0.13 if it last 25 years, $0.22 if it lasts 10 years.
www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...

I've been asking questions about the low natural gas prices in the Pacific Northwest. Today, EIA has a great piece with many answers. It's the imports from Western Canada, where prices are even lower. Gotta love those benefits of international trade...while they last.
www.eia.gov/todayinenerg...

Are Fuel Economy Labels Accurate for EVs? Information needs to be up to date to help buyers make good decisions. With the electric vehicle (EV) tax credit expiring at the end of the month, a lot of people have been running out to the deale…

EI resident energy effic label expert, Lucas Davis, has great post today on fuel effic labels for EVs. I think he is too easy on them: annual cost estimate is based on US avg elec price, but they vary far more across states (3x+) than gas prices do.
energyathaas.wordpress.com/2025/09/08/a...

Yes!
energyathaas.wordpress.com/2015/01/20/o...

Two useful RTO Insider articles on dynamic pricing in California. The CPUC wants IOUs to step up commitment to it, but the biggest municipal utilities are backing away from it.
www.rtoinsider.com/113929-cpuc-...
www.rtoinsider.com/112563-calif...
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As the operations of Phillips 66's Southern California refinery wind down and the fall refinery turnaround season quickly approaches, the LA spot price has increased to $0.60 above NY/Gulf, about $0.40 more than normal. Buckle up. www.eia.gov/todayinenerg...

Trump pardons Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht Trump said he had called Ulbricht's mother to let her know he had granted her son a full pardon.

Given the trump administrations killing of 11 alleged Venezuelan drug dealers at sea today, now might be a good time to recall his pardon of a American drug dealer actually convicted of running a large drug operation and soliciting murders for higher.
www.bbc.com/news/article...

Open letter Click here to add your signature. An Open Letter from Economists in Support of Governor Lisa Cook and Federal Reserve Independence To the President, Members of Congress, and the American public: We wr...

I signed an open letter from economists supporting Fed independence & Gov. Lisa Cook. Letter: docs.google.com/document/d/1...

Add your name by Monday: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Isn't it time for a constitutional amendment eliminating presidential pardons? In theory, they could be used to the benefit of society, but in practice they are a giant open door to corruption and authoritarianism.

If I am reading correctly the California Energy Commission's agenda for Friday's meeting, it looks like they are officially backing off the idea of a refinery margin penalty/tax. A wise move. It is impractical and doesn't target the true downstream problem.
efiling.energy.ca.gov/GetDocument....

France ‘flexes’ nuclear output as solar reshapes European energy Country’s reactors are adjusting output more frequently as more renewables come online

Very interesting extended piece on the increasing flexing of France's nuc power to accommodate renewables', primarily solar, output variation. Sounds like can flex much faster than people generally acknowledge in US, but "thermal stress and corrosion remain concerns".
www.ft.com/content/22a5...

Raising the Low Expectations of Electric Vehicle Drivers Real-time information about chargers could speed electric vehicle adoption. Our family’s summer ended with a 2,800 mile road trip from the Bay Area to southern Alberta, Canada and back. The beautif…

Andy Campbell in this week's Energy Institute blog points out that it isn't just the existence of chargers that is needed to spur EV adoption, but also real-time information about location and availability.
energyathaas.wordpress.com/2025/08/25/r...

EIA data lag BLS on electricity, but through May 2025 not much sign of residential affordability crisis outside of CA in EIA data, CPI-adjusted. Many recent reports of rate increases and capacity price increases, so that could change, but non-CA May 2025 real elec price lower than 2014.💡🔌

After rebuilding its electricity system following hurricane Maria in 2017, Puerto Rico continues to be plagued by unreliable service that will undermine economic growth.
www.eia.gov/todayinenerg...

California’s Refinery Closure Drama The state must plan today for the import capacity that can smooth the transition. When two major California refineries recently announced they would be closing – Phillips 66’s Wilmington facility w…

My Energy Institute blog post today reviews California's options for dealing with impending refinery closures. There's really only one sustainable approach: the state must plan today for the import capacity that can smooth the transition off of gasoline.
energyathaas.wordpress.com/2025/08/18/c...
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Tariffs on Spin Cycle Trade restrictions imposed in 2018 increased the price of washing machines by $86. U.S. consumers are starting to feel the pinch of tariffs. Prices are up for home furnishings, toys, appliances, an…

Continuing Meredith's theme from last week (tariffs on solar panels), Lucas Davis this week looks at the evidence from the 2018 tariffs on washing machines. How many ways can one say "really bad idea"?
energyathaas.wordpress.com/2025/08/11/t...

The Puzzle of Low Data Center Utilization Rates Contrary to popular belief, data centers aren't maxed out around the clock - and this has real consequences for power system planning

@tnorris.bsky.social is one of the most insightful and creative people thinking about the impact of data centers on the grid these days. His work suggests that this is a very solvable problem, primarily through demand flexibility.
www.powerpolicy.net/p/the-puzzle...

AI demand drives record electricity supply costs in largest US market Blow for Donald Trump’s vow of lower prices as grid operator PJM forced to pay 10% more to meet soaring energy needs

Data centers are driving up wholesale electricity prices. But surprisingly little coverage of potentially offsetting impact: spreading T&D and other system fixed costs over more kWh could lower retail prices. Wondering about net outcome from these two effects. 💡🔌
www.ft.com/content/f1bc...

Could California prevent more blackouts by joining a Western power market? The state built a clean grid. Now lawmakers are eyeing opening its market to states that rely on coal. Critics say it’s a risky bet.

Despite the tilted opening, this is actually a pretty balanced and informative piece on the state of California's legislation towards western electricity market regional cooperation.
calmatters.org/politics/202... 💡🔌

The Social Cost of Carbon Is Gone — and That May Be Good News for Future US Climate Policy - Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University SIPA | CGEP % Get the latest as our experts share their insights on global energy policy.

@noahqkaufman.bsky.social has a very interesting, and certainly controversial, take on trump administration abandoning the SCC. I strongly agree with many of his SCC critiques, but the alternative is also unclear, and very well could be worse. 💡🔌
www.energypolicy.columbia.edu/the-social-c...

How we’re making data centers more flexible to benefit power grids An update on how we’re developing flexible data center capabilities to support power grids and build a sustainable, affordable energy system.

Very exciting to see Google step up on load flexibility of data centers. Hope we'll see other hyperscalers do the same. Critical for developing AI while maintaining reliable grids and reasonable electricity prices. (my blog: energyathaas.wordpress.com/2025/04/14/c...) 🔌💡

blog.google/inside-googl...

Tariff Trial and Error in the Solar Energy Sector A decade of solar tariffs has taught us some costly lessons. Unless you’ve been living under a rock – a valid lifestyle choice these days – you’ve been hearing a lot about tariffs. Last April, the …

I am back from vacation and catching up on the energy news. First off, Meredith Fowlie's EI blog post this morning unpacks what history tells us about the impact of tariffs on solar panel costs and US production, based on a detailed new working paper. 💡🔌
energyathaas.wordpress.com/2025/08/04/t...

Now That the IRA Is Nearly Gone, Do We Know How Much We Will Miss It? Forecasting is hard. Especially the future. In the wake of the passage of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” (OBBBA) there has been a rush to assess the impact of this legislation on the energy sect…

Jim Bushnell's insightful blog post today on what the (mostly) repealed IRA would have done. Unlike nearly all other such analyses, his research (with Aaron Smith) focuses on the uncertainty. And yields some important insights.
energyathaas.wordpress.com/2025/07/21/n... 💡🔌

Netherlands rations electricity to ease power grid stresses Country provides early warning for rest of EU if investments in new cables do not keep pace with shift to greener economy

The Netherlands seems to be becoming a cautionary tale for issues that can arise when electrification policy is not accompanied by sufficient supply planning or demand flexibility. Would love to see the low duration curve. Wonder if real crunch is < 40 hours per year.
www.ft.com/content/9c75... 💡🔌

Every Electricity Demand Reduction is a Cost Shift That’s not an ethical judgment, just simple math.  Over the years, our team of bloggers has put out quite a few posts on rooftop solar, many of which discuss the cost shift from solar adopter…

My blog post today explains the simple math of why all electricity demand reductions cause a cost shift, and why that is not a moral judgment. The question is which demand reductions are actually worth the cost. energyathaas.wordpress.com/2025/07/14/e...

UK abandons zonal pricing plan for electricity Ministers will instead explore less radical reforms such as how generators pay to access transmission network

The UK seems to be deciding to pursue equity and climate policies by maintaining mispricing in the wholesale market. Hard to see how that will work out well.
www.ft.com/content/765a...
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Donald Trump ally seeks to snap up DR Congo mine as US brokers peace deal Financier Gentry Beach in talks over Rubaya coltan mine as Washington dangles investments to accompany end to regional conflict

Another reminder that when trump says the US will develop natural resource supplies in another country – Ukraine, DRC, Greenland, etc – what he is really saying is that a private company of his choosing will get to develop the resources. Recipe for corruption.
www.ft.com/content/91a6...