November 13, 2019 by Maximilian Auffhammer 1 Comment

Utilities need to invest in the future, and the Transition needs to be paid for by their customers. The less painful that is to each customer, the more publicly acceptable it will be. Maximilian Auffhammer at the Energy Institute at Haas explains how electricity pricing usually combines a fixed monthly charge with a block rate price (the charge for each additional unit of energy). Here he reviews a new report that scrutinises how different firms … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Policies Tagged With: electricity, Gini, inequality, pricing, USA

January 29, 2019 by Maximilian Auffhammer

In on-trend California you’ll find 10% of the entire world’s EVs but to achieve their ambitious target of putting 5-million zero-emissions vehicles on the road by 2030 they require subsidies. However, a new report for the US National Bureau of Economic Research, finds the subsidies just save rich people money and don't drive the volume required from average consumers. In addition, by 2025, the scheme will have cost at least 5x more than forecast. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Climate policy, Energy, Transport and energy Tagged With: berkely, carbon tax, energy institute, EVs