Yes on AB 538

CALIFORNIA NEEDS AN AFFORDABLE AND RELIABLE 100% CLEAN ENERGY GRID. AB 538 IS THE LOGICAL NEXT STEP.

Last year lawmakers unanimously passed ACR 188, directing the state’s grid manager –
CAISO – to report how a regional transmission organization (RTO) can help California achieve its clean energy and environmental goals. The report concluded: “California’s goals for renewable energy and greenhouse gas reduction can be achieved more quickly and with less cost to Californians through expanded regional cooperation.” It also determined expanded regional energy cooperation vital to maintaining a reliable grid.

By passing AB 538, lawmakers will enable CAISO to lead the creation of an RTO across Western states – setting the stage for a stronger grid to more affordably, reliably, and sustainably power California’s 21st Century economy. California retains its ability to have its representatives to a Western state committee be appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the State Senate.

What is an RTO?

Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs) are independent, membership-based, non-profit organizations that operate electricity grids across state lines, oversee regional wholesale electricity markets, and provide regional reliability planning. Seven RTOs cover about half the states and two-thirds of U.S. energy demand. Membership in an RTO does not impact a state’s authority to determine its own clean energy procurement priorities.

RTO benefits in California

A report found California will see:

AB 538 GIVES CALIFORNIA A CHANCE TO LEAD INSTEAD OF BECOMING ISOLATED, LIKE TEXAS.

California imports a third of its power, which helps keep the lights on every day and provides a lifeline during emergencies such as last September’s 10-day heat emergency. CAISO already collaborates with 14 Western states and portions of Canada and Mexico in a real-time energy market that has reduced California’s energy costs by $689 million.

AB 538 enables California to lead the West in creating an RTO before that choice is gone. Some Western states have passed laws requiring participation in an RTO. The Southwest Power Pool – an RTO based in Arkansas – is asking Westerners to join in the pursuit of a clear goal: isolating California. In March, many of California’s long-time energy allies in Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia signaled their openness to abandoning the CAISO-led Western energy market and joining SPP.

California faces a simple question: Will CAISO lead a Western-driven RTO, or will the state risk becoming isolated while a Southern RTO expands at our expense? The challenges of powering California’s grid alone are a recipe for disaster – more blackouts, higher energy prices, and a weaker economy. An isolated energy grid is the Texas approach. Its grid failed two years ago, instigating a massive winter blackout causing 246 Texans to freeze to death and up to $130 billion in damages.

AN EQUITABLE CLEAN ENERGY FUTURE IS BUILT ON AFFORDABILITY. AB 538 PROVIDES THE MOST AFFORDABLE PATH.

Achieving California’s target of 100% clean energy by 2045 requires bringing online nearly five times more new clean energy every year than it has for the last decade. With 80% of energy customers in the West now served by utilities with net-zero carbon energy mandates, California has many allies pursuing the same clean energy goal. Choosing to move ahead alone is only possible with a significant increase in energy rates, exacerbating strains on California’s low-income families struggling with utility bill debts. With climate change increasing the risk of blackouts during summer due to more frequent heat waves and wildfires that reduce the grid’s ability to deliver power, an RTO provides California the most affordable way to transition to clean energy. An RTO will lead to more:

Affordable energy by preventing California from becoming an energy island and enabling the state to benefit from $563 million in annual energy bill savings
Reliable energy by enabling California to plan energy exports and imports ahead of time, especially during emergencies
Clean energy by providing a framework to seize climate advantages for developing and delivering new solar and wind power across the West
Transparency over energy prices, sources, and emissions.

A UCLA study found low-income Californians are more likely to have their power disconnected after days when the temperature exceeds 95 degrees Fahrenheit when they receive overdue bill notices for energy used during those hot days.

AB 538 WILL HELP CREATE A GREEN JOBS BOOM IN CALIFORNIA.

California is on the brink of the largest green job boom in history because of the state’s rapidly expanding clean power targets, unprecedented federal funding, and strong labor standards.

According to the procurement goals set this February by the California Public Utilities Commission, California needs to generate 86 GW of new clean energy by 2035 – more than double today’s 75 GW maximum output. Meeting these goals will require massive increases in production of every single type of renewable energy source – and $30 billion in transmission investments to connect all of this power to the grid. All of this means unprecedented green jobs growth for California workers.
California’s clean energy system can only grow this big this fast with a regional market for the state’s clean energy. While California already shares its power with other states today, an RTO will aid collaboration on investments needed to build interstate transmission lines that remain essential for large renewable projects in California to connect with a regional customer base. This will help the West to produce and deliver enough clean power by expanding clean energy coordination to keep the lights on.
The federal Inflation Reduction Act provides $369 billion in funding for expanding clean energy production – including $270 billion in tax credits for clean power projects with prevailing wage and union labor requirements. A new study finds California will benefit more than any other state, with 140,000 new clean energy jobs produced by 2030.