Conserve energy? What's in it for me?
As California sizzles in triple-digit temperatures, it's expected to break the record for power usage. But Golden State residents still won't pay higher energy rates, and that could be part of the problem, Stacey Vanek-Smith reports.
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Scott Jagow: I try to never complain about the weather to my friends back East. I live in Los Angeles, but we're gonna have triple-digit temperatures again today and it looks like California's gonna break the record for power usage. The thing is, my electricity bill doesn't budge when it's hot out here. I asked Stacey Vanek-Smith to find out why.
Stacey Vanek-Smith: California is asking residents to conserve energy this week. But there's not much of a reason to listen, says Jim Bushnell with the University of California energy institute.
Jim Bushnell: When we get to these tight electricity situations, the rates paid by customers don't change.
Not that energy comes cheap these days.
Bushnell says companies like PG&E that sell electricity to consumers, buy it from wholesale suppliers and wholesale prices have been skyrocketing.
Bushnell: And, yes, that is actually a good thing because prices tell us we're running out, and when we're running out, we want to reduce consumption.
But Bushnell says companies like PG&E can't pass wholesale prices onto consumers because of regulations that cap electricity costs, and that stifles innovation.
He says energy-saving technology would become profitable a lot faster if people could save money by using it.
In Los Angeles, I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith for Marketplace.
