Gavin Newsom Is Blaming Climate Change For The Blackouts He Is Creating

Now, people could die

Did you hear the news? California nearly got 100% of its electricity from renewables for a period last weekend!

But wait. Governor Gavin Newsom’s administration said yesterday that we would once again have blackouts this summer.

What’s going on?

Michael Shellenberger @ShellenbergerMD

Gavin Newsom's aides yesterday said climate change may soon cause blackouts, but that's ridiculous: we've known about climate change for decades. The reason for four years of blackouts in a row is because Newsom won't build the power plants we need. Now, people could die.

According to Newsom’s people… climate change. That and the fact that people might actually use their air conditioners this summer.

This is bonkers. We Californians pay more for electricity than anyone else in the country except people in Hawaii.

And we’ve known for years that we needed to build more natural gas plants.

But Gavin and his people are acting surprised. I mean, who could have ever predicted that climate change would make things hotter?

Do you know what happens when there are blackouts and people can’t use their air conditioners? They die. 

From homelessness and crime to energy, water, and forest fires, Newsom only makes things worse. He then looks around for someone to blame.

And when there isn’t someone to blame, he blames climate change.

The problem isn’t that Newsom isn’t running California. It’s that he’s running it into the ground.

That and running for president. And that means he wants the big money support of powerful anti-energy, pro-scarcity interests.

Not me. For the last six years I have been warning the people of California that shutting down nuclear plants, not building enough natural gas plants, and over-relying on weather dependent renewables would be a disaster.

I testified to Congress SIX TIMES warning of the disaster that’s now unfolding.

There’s a role for renewables. I have solar panels in my backyard. But the fifth largest economy in the world can’t rely on the weather, particularly not during a time of climate change.

The same week California generated nearly 100% of its electricity from renewables, it also had to shut off electricity coming from its solar farms. 

The problem with weather-dependent renewables is that they produce too much energy when we don’t need it and not enough when we do. 

It was misleading for people to point to a few minutes during one day when energy from renewables matched demand for electricity. The rest of the time they aren’t matched, which is why they make electricity so expensive.

Our electricity rates rose seven times more than they did in the rest of the US over the last 10 years. And now Newsom’s people say they will raise electricity rates up to 9 percent every year over the next three years.

California needs abundant and reliable energy. As governor, I will make sure we have it.