Concerns about power outages, the high cost of electricity and the importance of building a future for our state where we rely more on renewable energy than the dirty fossil fuels that are leading to catastrophic climate change are front of mind for many Californians.
Those worries could be amplified by the proposed Assembly Bill 538, which is making its way through the state Assembly. Re-introduced this year by Southern California-based Assemblymember Chris Holden, with support from deep-pocketed energy lobbyists, this bill would regionalize California’s electrical grid and dismantle the various state protections that were put into place 20 years ago after the Enron Corporation defrauded California ratepayers of $40 billion in overcharges.
If passed, our state would cede control over our electricity system, and our transmission line construction, to the board of a western regional transmission organization (RTO) that would be serving the interests of utilities and energy traders from coal-burning states like Wyoming, Utah and Montana.
If California becomes a member of an RTO, it is a federally binding membership that would likely be impossible to leave.
An ad hoc coalition of advocacy and environmental groups in Marin County has mobilized quickly to oppose AB 538, including 350 Bay Area Action, 350 Marin, Democracy Action Marin, Indivisible Marin, Indivisible Ross Valley and Women’s Energy Matters. These groups are concerned that it will decimate our climate progress, while exporting thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in revenue to other states.
The California-based consumer watchdog group TURN (The Utility Reform Network), the California Building and Construction Trades Council (representing nearly half a million workers), and the Sierra Club have also expressed opposition, as they did when the bill was originally introduced by Holden in 2018. Additionally, Food and Water Watch, the Clean Coalition and many others opposing the bill in 2018 are signatories to an opposition letter.
Thankfully, Marin’s new Assemblymember Damon Connolly has courageously challenged this flawed bill. Through his participation in an Assembly committee hearing in April, he secured a commitment from the author to stop moving the bill forward until the objections of consumers and labor and environmental organizations are addressed.
This is the highest form of responsible legislating: Stop a bad bill until either its flaws are corrected or the bill is abandoned. We applaud Connolly’s wisdom and are grateful for his leadership on this important issue.
Still, work needs to be done to block passage of this bill until it is fixed, or altogether abandoned. At the Energy Committee meeting where Connolly played such a constructive role, the bill ran into tough questioning by other legislators as well. According to several experts advising our groups, the core issues have not yet been resolved by amendments Holden subsequently proposed.
Unfortunately, MCE (formerly known as Marin Clean Energy), which is Marin’s community choice aggregator, is playing an unconstructive role. Our coalition was recently surprised and disappointed to learn that the management of MCE sent a public letter in support of this highly flawed bill.
MCE’s position flies in the face of its stated mission “to confront the climate crisis by eliminating fossil fuel greenhouse gas emissions, producing renewable energy, and creating equitable community benefits.”
We encourage Connolly to keep fighting the good fight against this wrong-headed legislation. We also encourage MCE to revisit its support of the bill and consider its many environmentally conscientious consumers, like the members of our respective organizations, who may be less inclined to patronize an organization that does not prioritize the energy independence and security of the electrical grid in the great state of California. And we encourage all concerned citizens to call the offices of their elected officials to speak out against a bill that would put our energy future in the hands of coal-burning states.
Susan Morgan, of San Rafael, is founder and director of Indivisible Marin. Online at indivisiblemarin.org.
