In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Meredith Fowlie, an associate professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of California, Berkeley, and a faculty director of the Energy Institute at Haas. Fowlie and coauthors recently published a working paper on the causes and implications of high electricity prices in the state of California. These high prices burden low-income households and pose a hurdle to reducing emissions through the electrification of transportation, heating, and other sectors. In today’s episode, Fowlie describes proposals for reforming electricity pricing in California in ways that address this complex and evolving challenge.

References and recommendations:

“Designing Electricity Rates for an Equitable Energy Transition” by Severin Borenstein, Meredith Fowlie, and James Sallee; https://haas.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/WP314.pdf

“Competitors to lithium-ion batteries in the grid storage market” episode of the Voltscast podcast with David Roberts; https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/competitors-to-lithium-ion-batteries-in-grid-storage/id1548554104?i=1000521809537

“Timber Wars” podcast from Oregon Public Broadcasting; https://www.opb.org/show/timberwars/

“Resources Radio” podcast from Resources for the Future; https://www.resources.org/resources-radio/

“Why Animals Don’t Get Lost” by Kathryn Schulz; https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/04/05/why-animals-dont-get-lost