A grassroots group in Maine that wanted to permanently kick investor-owned utilities out of the state and pursue publicly-owned power got as far as the ballot box in November (an accomplishment in its own right). But got outspent $40 million to $300,000 by the investor-owned utility lobby and this gargantuan gap in campaign funds translated to vote tally. Invest-owned utilities aren't leaving Maine any time soon.
In San Jose, the city leadership is exploring starting its own, publicly-owned utility that would give residents another option outside of PG&E, the investor-owned utility overlord whose power and gas rates seem to do nothing but rise rapidly.
Now, San Diego, California's second-largest city, is the next major jurisdiction to see an effort to kick investor-owned power out. Power San Diego, a local grassroots organization in Southern California announced this week it would begin circulating a petition to residents, hoping to get at least 80,000 supporters of launching a new, publicly-owned electric utility and doing away with San Diego Gas & Electic, the PG&E of the south.
If the group can collect 80,000 signatures, the question of whether to replace SDG&E with a public power utility would go in front of voters sometime in 2024 (likely November). The group claims San Diegans would immediately pay 20% for less electricity under the public power plan.
This will be something to watch in 2024. How this fight shapes up in a major city versus a state is something I will be looking out for. People have grown exhausted by the continually rising cost of electricity. Even if this should share the same fate as Maine's referendum, it seems the national conversation around what public power would look like is starting to pick up. When or whether it will pick up real momentum remains to be seen.