Dive Brief:
- California's drought cost electricity consumers more than $1 billion over a three year period as the state was forced to shift away from hydro and rely more heavily on natural gas, according to a new report from the Pacific Institute.
- On average, hydroelectric power provides 18% of the state's electricity, but the analysis showed from 2011 to 2014 hydro comprised less than 12% of total California electricity generation.
- Factoring in the dry years from 2007 to 2009, the report showed the total additional energy cost to the state’s electricity users during the six years of recent drought was $2.4 billion.
Dive Insight:
New research out from the Pacific Institute shows just how severely the western drought has impacted electricity consumers in recent years. According to the institute's report, between October 2011 and October 2014, California’s ratepayers spent $1.4 billion more for electricity than in average years because of the drought-induced shift from hydropower to natural gas.
“This severe drought has many negative consequences. One of them that receives little attention is how the drought has fundamentally changed the way our electricity is produced,” said the report’s author, Pacific Institute President Peter Gleick. “We hope this report prompts a lively debate on how to factor in a changing climate when we plan for electricity generation."
Gleick said the reliance on natural gas for the state’s electricity production has environmental costs, while hydropower produces few or no air contaminants. Pacific Institute's research showed that during the 2011 to 2014 drought period, burning more natural gas to compensate for limited hydropower led to an 8% increase in emissions of carbon dioxide and other pollutants from California power plants.
