Severin Borenstein

Related to Meredith's blog on Monday - and demonstrating that we don't do as much hallway chat as we should - my oped in the SF Chronicle today on San Francisco's possible purchase of PG&E's distribution system in SF to create a municipal utility. www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/open...

Appeals court upholds California’s net metering 3.0 “Petitioners do not sufficiently describe the benefits of the tariff that the Commission purportedly failed to quantify,” the court said.

State judge upheld California's 2022 changes to its net metering tariff, known as NEM 3.0. Good news, though the change has actually turned out to be a very small step in addressing the state's rooftop solar cost shift.
energyathaas.wordpress.com/2025/05/19/h...
www.utilitydive.com/news/appeals...

This Public Power Movement is Raising a Billion Dollar Question Who should pay to manage wildfire risk in California? As the climate gets warmer and weirder, it’s getting harder to safely move hundreds of gigawatts of electricity across millions of miles of pow…

I need to proofread my dictation software more carefully.

Meredith Fowlie, our utility wildfire risk maven, discusses how new CA legislation that REDUCES barriers to creating a municipal utility might shift the burden of wildfire prevention and damages.
energyathaas.wordpress.com/2026/03/09/t...

This Public Power Movement is Raising a Billion Dollar Question Who should pay to manage wildfire risk in California? As the climate gets warmer and weirder, it’s getting harder to safely move hundreds of gigawatts of electricity across millions of miles of pow…

Meredith Fowlie, our utility wildfire risk maven, discusses how new CA legislation that produces barriers to creating a municipal utility might shift the burden of wildfire prevention and damages.
energyathaas.wordpress.com/2026/03/09/t...

Gas prices are set to go vertical It's not exactly a bold prediction to suggest this will be bad for Trump's political standing.

The prediction markets have a very different view of nearterm gasoline prices than the futures market. I haven't done the full calculation with options prices, but it looks like there is probably an arbitrage opportunity.
www.natesilver.net/p/gas-prices...
www.wsj.com/market-data/...

Brent crude May contract closes at $93, but July 2026 is $83, Sept 2026 contract is $73 and May 2027 is $71. Traders still seem to think war impact will mostly be in next few months.
www.wsj.com/market-data/...

Trump’s ‘drill, baby, drill’ policy shields consumers from Iran-driven oil shocks, economist says | Fox News Video Unleash Prosperity co-founder Stephen Moore says record U.S. oil and gas production will help counter Middle East turmoil and prevent a spike in gas prices in the wake of recent Iran strikes.

Disheartening to see anyone taken seriously who says US (or California) oil production protects consumers from Iran war impact. Producers argue world market sets the price. Correct! Oil price reflects value, not proximity, as recent gasoline price jumps show.
www.foxnews.com/video/639043...

EIA has a very nice In-brief Analysis showing just how remarkable the nearly 2 decades of flat electricity demand have been prior to the last few years.
www.eia.gov/todayinenerg...

The Electric Vehicle Tariff Boomerang If we want more EVs in the US, all we need to do is allow the world’s most popular EVs, which are made by Chinese brands, to compete directly in the US market. This is why I think a recent landmark…

Jim Sallee's EI blog today on how trump's misguided tariffs will bring inexpensive and impressive Chinese EV's to our neighbors. US auto policy only makes sense if climate change isn't real and EV tech progress will slow drastically. Pretty stupid bet.
energyathaas.wordpress.com/2026/03/02/t...

Data Centers Are Creating a New Kind of Battery Monster Podcast Episode · Shift Key with Robinson Meyer · February 25 · 57m

Fascinating episode of Shift Key podcast on data centers and energy demand. Robinson Meyer interviews Peter Freed (former director of energy strategy at Meta from 2014 to 2024), who seems to be both knowledgeable and thoughtful on the subject.
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/d...

High Costs and Few Benefits from California’s Proposed Sustainable Aviation Fuel Tax Credit This credit would reduce road funding, raise gasoline and diesel prices, and deliver small and expensive carbon emissions reductions. In California, road construction, maintenance, and repairs are …

Aaron Smith's EI blog reminds us that the details matter for full impact of enviro regulation. Mandate for "sustainable" aviation fuel will cannibalize renewable diesel for ground transport. Small incremental renewable fuel use, very small enviro benefit.
energyathaas.wordpress.com/2026/02/23/h...

Data Centers and Your Power Bill

NYT article does a good job of covering part of the story. Data centers could drive up power bills, but they could also drive them down if policymakers respond with smart requirements.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/19/c...

energyathaas.wordpress.com/2025/09/29/w...

White House economic adviser says Fed researchers should be punished One of President Donald Trump’s top economic advisers assailed Fed research into the administration’s tariffs policies, saying the authors deserved to be punished.

Conclusion of NY Fed economists is same as vast majority of econ research over many decades when tariffs were promoted by the left. The Econ research hasn't wavered. Hassett and other formerly conservative politicos have just found MAGA religion.
www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

Utility-scale solar shines in Texas despite tariffs, federal policy changes Texas is now the top state for utility-scale solar power generation capacity. However, developers of new solar projects face a changing operating environment, one lacking strong federal policy support...

Really nice quick overview of the grid scale solar market in Texas from the Dallas Fed. Recognizes the constraints of solar and also the incredibly low costs.
www.dallasfed.org/research/eco...

Gasoline-Starved California Is Turning to Fuel From the Bahamas US supplies of gasoline are being shipped out of the country to travel thousands of miles via the Bahamas before finally ending up in California, a state battling shrinking fuelmaking capacity and hig...

Actually gas from Gulf Coast transshipped through Bahamas to evade self-defeating restrictions of Jones Act. CA is going to lose refineries as we ramp down gasoline. Need lower trade frictions to smooth the transition. Fed govt could make that happen, but won't.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Border Officials Are Said to Have Caused El Paso Closure by Firing Anti-Drone Laser

What's so disturbing is not DOD & FAA got wires crossed - which could happen under any administration - but that this admin went straight to an unfounded narrative, rather than investigating what went wrong. That's how mistakes become catastrophic accidents.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/11/u...

How can anyone read this and not realize that the US president is a deranged, lying, mob boss? 🍁✊
www.bbc.com/news/article...

Why are California Carbon Prices so Low? About 18 months ago, I presented analysis predicting that renewing California’s cap-and-trade program would stimulate demand for allowances and raise carbon prices. The opposite has happened.…

A must read if you follow cap and trade markets. Jim Bushnell discusses what investors know, or think they know, that is keeping CA allowance prices so low. An important puzzle given very low probability that CA emissions will drop as fast as the cap.
energyathaas.wordpress.com/2026/02/09/w...

‘I Didn’t Make a Mistake’: Trump Declines to Apologize for Racist Video of Obamas

Even if "staffer" posted the racist video of the Obamas "erroneously": trump has refused to apologize or acknowledge a problem, while press secretary - idiot attack dog Karoline Leavitt - called response "fake outrage". This is the moral compass of trump and minions.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/06/u...

Crude Summit: US refiners adjust slates, eye pipelines | Latest Market News US refiners are using their flexibility to handle varying crude slates more often while eyeing options such as new fuel pipelines to adapt to the changing market, according to speakers at the <i>Argus...

Interesting update on impact of Venezuelan and other crude production changes on North America markets, and a lot of chatter about new pipelines to reoptimize the system. Some pipelines have already started, but hard to know whether the others are serious plans.
www.argusmedia.com/en/news-and-...

U.S. ultimatum to vaccine group: No more funds unless you stop using thimerosal This mercury-containing compound, used as a vaccine preservative, is commonly used in lower-income countries — and deemed safe. The U.S. is now demanding that Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance stop using it.

The US is in, and now attempting to bully the rest of the world into, a dis-enlightenment period, when decisions are made based on superstition and allegiance to tribe, rather than evidence. Mostly, but not completely from the right, eg, anti-GMO movement.
www.npr.org/2026/01/30/g...

Dark red line along the bottom of graph is CA, the place some misinformed folks say has expensive elec due to all its wind, solar, and batteries. (Counting RA cost doesn't chg the story) Our high rates pay for response to what climate change is already doing: wildfires.
www.eia.gov/todayinenerg...

CAISO gets the best grade again, but still room for improvement. Nonetheless, it's nice to see recognition of the improvements that the great team at CAISO has made.
cleanenergygrid.org/wp-content/u...

A Solution for the Fast Data Center Connection Challenge Lean in on America’s fastest growing source of electricity supply. This week’s blog is co-authored with Emilia Chojkiewicz and Amol Phadke. Taking projections of all utilities in the U.S. tog…

In EI blog, Duncan Callaway, Emilia Chojkiewicz & Amol Phadke analyze v exciting idea: use complementary demand and supply patterns of existing gas peakers w new data centers, renewables & batteries for fast interconnection under existing grid agreements.
energyathaas.wordpress.com/2026/02/02/a...

Bitcoin price today, BTC to USD live price, marketcap and chart | CoinDesk Live Bitcoin price movements from all markets and BTC market cap, use our charts and see when there is an opportunity to buy or sell.

Somewhat reassuring to see the bitcoin Ponzi scheme partially unravel over the last few months (down 40%), and particularly over the last week, but trump likely to boost it through statements or government bailout. www.coindesk.com/price/bitcoin

Ask Wirecutter: My House Is Lit Like a Warehouse Basement. How Do I Make It More Serene? We’re living through a plague of crappy light bulbs. The right ones make a world of difference.

NY Times Wirecutter has a nice explainer on choosing the right LED bulb for your needs.
www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/r...

Trump sues IRS and Treasury Department for $10 billion over tax return leak | CNN Business President Donald Trump is suing the US Internal Revenue Service and Treasury Department for at least $10 billion, accusing the agency of an unathorized leak of his tax returns during his first adminis...

New chapter in the Trump kleptocracy: suing the government and having his own appointees settle the case by paying him off. If no one can sue sitting POTUS, shouldn't he be required to postpone his lawsuits until he leaves office?
www.cnn.com/2026/01/29/b...

Henry Hub Prices Smash All-Time Records as Winter Storm Fern, LNG Tag-Team to Tighten Balances Henry Hub prices hit all-time highs as Winter Storm Fern and LNG strengthen supply-demand balances. Learn about the surge, impacts on markets, and what structural shifts are taking place in the gas in...

Artic freeze across the county briefly sent nat gas prices to new all-time spot record at Henry Hub on Monday, above $30/MMBTU. Then dropped by more than half. Front month futures remained below $4. Storage and supply constraints.
naturalgasintel.com/news/henry-h...

Trump Pushes Plan for Tech Companies to Fund New Power Plants The White House proposal would involve an emergency auction within the country’s biggest power market.

I understand, and agree with, requiring large loads to do long-term power purchases, rather than stick that risk on other ratepayers. But I don't see how an emergency auction is necessary or helpful. Aren't long-term PPAs fairly bespoke not generic?
www.wsj.com/business/ene...

Locating the Electricity Affordability Crisis In the U.S., it’s real, but broadly mischaracterized. It started in July 2024, during the presidential campaign. Donald Trump declared a crisis in energy prices, and promised he would bring d…

My new post in Energy Inst blog disputes common narrative of a national elec affordability crisis. Or that price increases reflect the same drivers. Inflation-adj US average rates have changed little in last decade, but some states have been big outliers.
energyathaas.wordpress.com/2026/01/26/l...