California’s Energy Diet: Lora Myers in OC Register
California and other states need to know there is a better way forward.
The Orange County Register recently ran an op-ed written by Lora Myers, Senior Manager of the Energy, Environment and Agriculture Task Force. In it, she explains how Sacramento’s policies created an energy grid crisis and why balancing renewables with dependable, affordable energy sources is essential to keeping California’s economy strong and energy prices low.
Energy grids, like a balanced diet, need a healthy mix of ingredients to function properly. You would not feed your kids only lettuce and expect them to thrive. Yet California is doing just that with its energy system, cutting out petroleum, natural gas, and nuclear power without a reliable plan to meet consumer demand.
In recent weeks, energy experts have warned about a growing crisis in California’s oil infrastructure. Industry engineers say that the state’s crude pipelines, which carry heavy oil, are approaching a tipping point. Without steady production to keep the crude in motion, the pipelines could soon clog. Once that happens, the infrastructure will be too damaged to restart easily, leaving refineries without supply and consumers facing even higher costs.
The problem is not technical, but political. California now ranks among the most expensive states in the nation for energy. That is because politics, not markets, are determining how energy is produced and delivered.
Since 2019, California has reduced new oil drilling permits by 97%, effectively freezing in-state production. Regulatory barriers have delayed or blocked critical infrastructure projects, including storage and pipeline upgrades. At the same time, the state continues to retire baseload and dispatchable power sources such as nuclear and natural gas plants faster than reliable replacements are coming online.