Skip to content
Posted by Andrew G Campbell Uncategorized

Top 10 Energy Institute Blog Posts of 2023

Insights on the future of the electric grid, affordability, artificial intelligence and more drew readers to the Energy Institute Blog this year.

The past is no longer a good guide to the future in the world of energy. The variety of topics in this year’s Top 10 shows reflects just how widespread society’s energy challenges are. Policymakers and industry professionals looked to the Energy Institute Blog for fresh analysis on how the energy landscape is changing and what to do about it. Our Faculty Affiliates offered original analysis and highlighted questions that need answers.

Thank you for reading the Energy Institute Blog and for forwarding your favorite blog posts to colleagues, friends and family. Enjoy this year’s Top 10. Have a happy holiday season. We’ll see you in 2024!

10. What’s a Fair Electricity Bill?
Concerns about an income-graduated fixed charge, legislators’ and my own.
Severin Borenstein, 11/13/23

9. Not All of California’s Electricity Prices Are High
What to make of the widening gap between public and private power prices?
Duncan Callaway and Meredith Fowlie, 7/10/23

Bar graph showing average residential electric rates for each utility in California. The large investor owned utilities have the highest rates. Publicly owned utilities have lower rates.

8. Data Centers Are Booming
Will they be energy hogs or energy angels?
Meredith Fowlie, 10/9/23

7. Rebalancing Rates for Electrification and Equity
Addressing some misunderstandings about California’s rate redesign proposals.
Severin Borenstein, 5/1/23

Cartoon of a scale tilting to one side, intended to the equity and other trade-offs that come up in rate design.

6. Can ChatGPT Save the Planet?
A look at how artificial intelligence will interact with our efforts to deal with climate change.
James Sallee, 1/23/23

5. What’s the Matter with California’s Gasoline Prices?
To develop effective solutions, policymakers must first understand the problem.
Severin Borenstein, 1/9/23

Example of a Rorschach inkblot. Intended to illustrate how people of different ideologies are seeing very different things when they compare California and US gasoline prices.

4. Peakers Out, Batteries In?
A new paper suggests this may not be economical in many cases – yet. 
Maximilian Auffhammer, 3/20/23

3.  Who’s Afraid of Retail Electricity Rate Reform?
Even solar losers like me can see a big win in California rate reform.
Meredith Fowlie, 4/17/23

Line graphs showing projected rise in the electricity rates of San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E), Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) and Southern California Edison (SCE).

2. (More) Breaking News! California Electricity Prices are Still High!
Is it deregulation or is it just California?
James Bushnell, 1/17/23

1. California’s Duck-Belly Blues
Behind the meter, we’re ducked.
Meredith Fowlie, 3/13/23

Depiction of the "Duck Curve" which shows the daily shape of electricity demand minus renewable energy generation, projected through 2020.

Readers also enjoyed this 2022 post:
How Many U.S. Households Don’t Have Air Conditioning?
With rising adoption, nearly 90% of American homes have air conditioning, but almost 30% in California are still without it.
Lucas Davis, 8/15/22

Keep up with Energy Institute blogs, research, and events on Bluesky and LinkedIn.

Suggested citation: Campbell, Andrew. “Top 10 Energy Institute Blog Posts of 2023” Energy Institute Blog, UC Berkeley, December 18, 2023, https://energyathaas.wordpress.com/2023/12/18/top-10-energy-institute-blog-posts-of-2023/

Categories

Uncategorized

Tags

, , , , ,

Andrew G Campbell View All

Andrew Campbell is the Executive Director of the Energy Institute at Haas at the University of California, Berkeley. At the Energy Institute, Campbell serves as a bridge between the research community, and business and policy leaders on energy economics and policy.