Vote NO on Anti-Environmental AB813
Call Script
My name is __________. I am a constituent, and my zip code is _______. I am a member of Indivisible SF.
I am calling in opposition to AB 813, which would regionalize California’s electrical grid. I am deeply concerned that this bill would cede control of our grid to an agency that reports to the Trump administration. Can I count on Senator Wiener to vote no on AB 813?
Background
AB 813 is an anti-environmental bill that would set up a grid operator among a number of western states to distribute electricity amongst them. This bill would cede California’s control over the grid to a group of energy industry insiders from fossil fuel-powered states, five of which have sued the EPA over the clean power plan.
In 2004, California won a lawsuit with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to have our own state’s rights and set up our own California Independent System Operator (CAISO). Consequently, California appoints 100% of its oversight board. If a regional grid operator is formed, all of the protections and powers that California won in its lawsuit will be eliminated, leaving us vulnerable to energy industry insiders from fossil fuel states and federal regulators. Four of the five FERC commissioners are now Trump appointees.
Further Reading:
How FERC has started tilting markets in favor of fossil fuels (Danny Cullenward and Shelley Welton, Yale Journal on Regulation Bulletin)
How California would end up importing coal energy from Wyoming(James Temple, MIT Technology Review)
Grid regionalization may increase costs and greenhouse emissions(Ivan Penn, New York Times)
This Week's Scott Wiener Call Scripts:
