California Gov. Newsom Blames Trump For High Energy Costs, Critics Point To State Policies
California governor points at Trump over state’s increasing energy costs.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has attributed the recent 10% increase in California’s electricity costs to President Donald Trump’s policies.
The Governor posted on X, “Great work, President Donald Trump!!” in a tweet that included a screenshot of a Forbes article linking some of Trump’s policies to rising energy rates.
However, energy policy experts and critics contend that California’s high energy prices are primarily due to the state’s own aggressive green energy initiatives.
According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), in 2023, California’s average electricity cost per kilowatt-hour was $0.2487, nearly double the national average of $0.1268.
Experts like Steve Milloy of the Energy and Environment Legal Institute and Jason Isaac of the American Energy Institute argue that Newsom’s push for expensive renewable energy sources, along with the closure of fossil fuel and nuclear plants, has made the state’s grid less reliable and more costly.
They also point to state policies, such as the low-carbon fuel standard and the cap-and-trade program, as factors contributing to the high prices. Newsom’s administration has previously blamed rising costs on a bill they claim would increase electricity bills.
The state’s reliance on intermittent energy sources such as solar and wind has also created challenges, with California sometimes producing more energy than it can use and having to pay neighboring states to take the excess.
The state has had to extend the life of natural gas power plants to prevent blackouts and has experienced power grid issues for years, including a heat wave in 2022 that prompted Newsom to ask residents to reduce their electricity use.
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