Why is Electricity so Expensive In California?

There is no denying it. If you live inside the state of California, chances are you probably have seen your monthly service charge go through the roof, each and every time you pay the electric bill. California is actually the most expensive state in the US when it comes to electricity, even higher than Alaska and Hawaii, which leaves many individuals scratching their heads. In fact, there is really no ultimate reason as to why California should be so expensive. It isn’t any more expensive to produce electricity in the state than anywhere else, and with the prevalence of alternative power options, ranging from solar to wind, you would think it would actually be easier to produce energy inside the state. However, it effectively has become a higher price due to price gouging. Hiking the price of your electricity inside the state of California has been occurring for years, with the average price of electricity inside the state as much as 30 percent higher than other states in the country. If you looked at the industrial electricity rates inside the state, as of the end of the year, 2011, you’d actually see the rate of California is nearly 60 percent higher than the national average.

There really isn’t much you can do about adjusting the overall cost of electricity as it is charged by the electric company, which is why it is necessary to start looking for other ways for lower electric bills. The best bet is to look towards installing your own energy producing equipment, such as solar panels. If you become completely sustainable, it is possible to sell the remaining solar energy back to the electric company, although even if it doesn’t completely wipe out what you use every month, you’ll still lower your electric bills considerably. However, you need to take a few pointers into consideration. The only real way solar power is effective enough for you to consider the installation cost is if you live inland in southern California. Right on the coast or up north you won’t have the constant sunshine and you need to exceed 500 kWh per month (which you probably do). If you fall into both of these categories, you can actually receive a generous federal and state tax credit for installing a solar array on your home, which helps offset the total price of the installation, which is fantastic for saving money.

The solar energy rebates for the state of California are similar to the Massachusetts solar energy offered throughout the New England area. Although unlike with the Massachusetts solar energy, although you are paying more for your utility bills every month than those individuals on the complete other side of the country, you are receiving a higher tax break and you have more sunlight throughout the year than in Massachusetts. This way, you’ll be able to create more solar energy, cut down on your utility bill by a higher percentage, and possibly make more money when you sell the additional energy back to the company.