Making Cents Out of Watts: What’s Driving Up Your Energy Bills?

Climate One

News, News Commentary, Earth Sciences, Social Sciences, Science

4.7 • 583 Ratings

🗓️ 14 March 2025

⏱️ 59 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

A third of Americans say that they've skipped food, medicine, or something else to be able to afford their energy bills. Much of the increase in the cost of electricity is driven by rising demand from artificial intelligence and data centers, industrial onshoring and hotter temperatures. How does your electricity bill get calculated, and who’s in charge of setting those rates? Does public power serve consumers better than investor-owned utilities? And will rising electricity prices dampen the transition to cleaner sources of energy? Guests: Shelley Welton, Professor of Law and Energy Policy, University of Pennsylvania Severin Borenstein, Professor, Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley Kevin Miller, Reporter, Maine Public Radio On March 24, Google’s Chief Sustainability Officer Kate Brandt and Irina Raicu, Director of the Internet Ethics Program at the Markkula Center, will speak with Climate One about the development of sustainably powered artificial intelligence. Tickets are on sale through our website. And on April 22 and 24, Climate One will once again be hosting a series of SF Climate Week events at The Commonwealth Club! Join us for conversations with environmental luminaries such as Margaret Gordon, Jenny Odell, Project Drawdown, Grist, and Abby Reyes. Tickets are on sale now. Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on Patreon, you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and access to the Climate One Discord. Sign up today. For show notes and related links, visit our website. Ad sales by Multitude. Contact them for ad inquiries at multitude.productions/ads Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hear that?
0:01.2	It's your big McDonald's hunger calling
0:02.6	because the big arch is back
0:04.4	and this time is here to stay
0:06.3	with juicy beef, cheddar cheese
0:08.1	and that big arch sauce.
0:09.9	Hungry, you are now.
0:11.7	Order delivery on the McDonald's app.
0:15.0	Serve from 11am.
0:16.2	Upcharges and fees apply to delivery orders.
0:17.9	Subjects availability, price and participation may vary.
0:21.3	I'm Greg Dalton.
0:22.7	I'm Ariana Brocious.
0:23.9	And this is Climate One.
0:26.7	Greg, have you ever tried to decipher your electric bill?
0:30.0	I mean, we all look at the line that tells you how much you owe,
0:32.9	but all those other lines about how much the power costs and other charges and stuff.
0:37.9	Yes, I've spent a painful amount of time looking at my electric bill, and I still don't fully
0:42.9	understand it. I mean, I know the difference between generation, making the energy and
0:47.1	transmission, sending it to my house. That's clearly marked. I pay a few extra dollars every month
0:52.7	for 100% renewable electricity, greener than the
0:55.6	usual mix from the utility. And like all California customers, I get about $100 a year back on my
	...

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