Free Republic

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced a partnership Wednesday with three local universities aimed at positioning the city to compete for hundreds of thousands of federal dollars for clean technology research and a proposed state institute to study climate change. The partnership with Caltech, UCLA and USC is part of the agenda Villaraigosa outlined in his State of the City speech Tuesday to lure and retain companies that focus on green endeavors such as solar, wind, battery and hydrogen fuel cell technologies. Villaraigosa said the CleanTech LA alliance, which also includes the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, Los Angeles Business...

In April, when Public Utilities Commission Chairman Michael Peevey persuaded the PUC board to back his plan to use $600 million generated by a 10-year surcharge on some energy bills to create a PUC-run global warming think tank, the response was far chillier than he probably expected. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was enthusiastic, but he was practically alone. Experts on utility law questioned whether it would be legal for an agency created to regulate utilities to force ratepayers to subsidize an agency think tank. Consumer groups such as The Utilities Reform Network questioned the fairness of imposing an additional de facto...

A publicly funded, world-class research institute that would develop answers to the threat posed by climate-changing greenhouse gases is being crafted in the Legislature, and is among the last-minute proposals expected to come before the Legislature in the closing days of this year's legislative session. The plan differs sharply from the original blueprint proposed by California's top utilities regulator, state Public Utilities Commission President Michael Peevey. Legislation encompassing the new, estimated $87 million-a-year plan is likely to be completed within a few days. At time when public attention is focused on California's $15.2 billion budget shortage, the proposed California Institute...

When Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger used his veto power to eliminate the obscure Electricity Oversight Board, he put at risk $3 billion in state funds – money due the state from settlements with power merchants who victimized California during the electricity crisis. The governor’s 2007 action removing the EOB also means oversight over the state’s electricity grid is likely to be placed under the control of the PUC, which would entail a significant expansion of the authority of the Public Utilities Commission. This maneuvering comes amid an intensifying power clash between the Legislature and the Public Utilities Commission, led by president...

Are you willing to pay 12 to 30 cents more a month on your utility bill for an institute coordinating energy and climate change technology research across the state? Actually, you don't have a choice. The California Public Utilities Commission on Thursday unanimously approved the $600 million California Institute for Climate Solutions, which will be paid for by money from ratepayers' monthly electric bills, to the tune of $60 million a year. The institute aims to speed up research into cutting greenhouse gas emissions, such as auto exhaust, that contribute to pollution. This work is already under way at laboratories...