“Just the idea that a PG & E bill can be 40% of the rent in the Bay area is just plain wrong, “Markist” newspaper or not.”
Horse hockey! When I lived in CA my mortgage was $2400 per month and utilities in the wintertime were routinely $800 per month. And we WEREN’T running a restaurant!
We still pay much less than that.
Most of the CA population is urban and lives near the coasts. They require very little winter heating in spite of a general lack of insulation. Urban populations mainly have gas service, and gas pricing is much lower than electric. Though of course the idiots in Sacramento want to do away with gas.
So the effect of expensive electricity is overall less than one would think. There are exceptional cases of course. If you live in the Sierra and your home heating is electric...