Lawmakers on Both Sides Say California’s Push for Clean Energy Has Driven Up Electricity Bills

California lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are bringing attention to legislative policies that they say are causing energy prices to escalate and squeezing consumers across the state.  Between 2020 and 2023, rates climbed between 40 percent and 60 percent for many Golden State residents—compared with about a 24 percent bump across other major cities nationwide, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.  Prices for electricity have increased more than 128 percent over the past decade for Pacific Gas and Electric’s 16 million customers in California.  Democratic Sen. Stephen Bradford, chair of the Senate’s Energy, Utilities, and Communications Committee, said during an Aug. 6 hearing that the state’s desire to lower climate emissions is increasing electricity demand and causing prices to spike. ...