California Must Spend 20 Billion on Power Grid Upgrades If It Wants EVs

California, which already suffers from rolling black and brown outs in hot summer months, has a power grid that can't handle the expected addition of millions of EVs. It is estimated that it will cost California at $20 Billion to upgrade. They also plan on building at least 30,000 more charging stations (which sounds rather low to me, I'd think more would be needed). All that new energy has to come from somewhere. Expect more power sources to be built soon. They have to. Otherwise, everyone buying EVs are just buying big paperweights cuz' they won't be going anywhere!


California Must Spend 20 Billion on Power Grid Upgrades If It Wants EVs

California must spend up to $20 billion on transmission line upgrades to support energy transfers to electric vehicles, according to a new Berkeley study. This figure does not include grid stress from further electrification efforts away from gas appliances, and could prove to be significantly higher.

The study’s author estimates that by 2035, 50% of “feeder” transmission lines will be “overloaded by EV charging demand,” a figure that will grow to 67% by 2045. They say the cost of upgrading transmission lines for EVs could cost $6 to $20 billion, or about 10% to 40% of the current transmission system. While the authors say “additional infrastructure cost drives the electricity price up,” they hypothesize “the growth of total electricity consumption drives the rate down, which leads to a net impact of rate reduction according to our estimation.”

California appears poised to adopt household-income-based fixed fees for each electricity bill to pay for these transmission upgrades and other fixed baseline costs. Transmission upgrades are not only necessary for meeting increased energy consumption, but also for spreading fluctuating levels of renewable energy, as existing transmission lines were created to carry continuous but lower levels of energy from a power plant, not spiking and falling renewable energy. To that effort, the state is already undergoing a $6 billion transmission upgrade, $4.59 billion of which is going to three transmission lines that will carry energy from offshore wind farms in Humboldt County.

a reply to: FlyersFan

The power grid is not going to be upgraded or expanded in CA, or anywhere else.

They don't care if you can charge your EV or not.

The goal is to have people unable to travel. It's the 15 minute cities thing.

a reply to: FlyersFan

The Green Liberal fools don’t really think things through, do they?

A complete switch to EV’s is a pipe dream that will never come true.

originally posted by: FlyersFan
California appears poised to adopt household-income-based fixed fees for each electricity bill to pay for these transmission upgrades and other fixed baseline costs.

Fee? It's just another tax. The sad part is that as the democrats leave their utopia because it's not utopian, they will spread their mind virus to where ever they end up.

They are talking about the feeders, but no mention about generating capacity. I wonder how many oil and coal fired generating stations they will have to build.

a reply to: RazorV66

They're going to make gas powered vehicles unavailable and unaffordable.

They'll continue to enact polices that make fuel more and more expensive. They'll create regulations that make operating a gas station impossible.

Then we'll be stuck in their 15 minute cities under constant surveillance dependant on their CBDC and social credit systems.

Virtue signaling is a beautiful thing until reality kicks in.
The same people pushing for electric cars because it's "green" are the same people that protest the real green energy maker nuclear because it's icky..

If they're saying $20B it'll be 5x that. Minimum.

originally posted by: yeahright
If they're saying $20B it'll be 5x that. Minimum.

That's what I was thinking.
The fools always estimate wrong.
Looking at rolling black/brown outs for California as they go EV

a reply to: FlyersFan

Ask them how that bullet train project is going. Some people are getting rich off of it. That's about it.

originally posted by: yeahright
a reply to: FlyersFan

Ask them how that bullet train project is going. Some people are getting rich off of it. That's about it.

Hasn't that one hit five times over budget?

a reply to: FlyersFan

The Bad News is: The federal piggy bank is almost empty. Most was sent to Ukraine by Biden.

The Good News is: President Trump promises to cancel all the electric car mandates. Soon after, only Tesla will be in the electric car business. The burden on California will be to only take care of charging those vehicles.

a reply to: Bluntone22

Not sure on specifics, and I doubt California is, either. But at this point, still no bullet train.

butwhatabout build back better? 💡

a reply to: FlyersFan

The summer blackouts and brown outs in California are largely due to the fire danger caused by strong seasonal winds, which can cause high tension powerlines to short out and spark; not due to a lack of power.

Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), a publicly traded corporation which owns most of the electrical transmission lines in the State (including those in the most fire-prone areas of the State), has neglected not only upgrades to their system (to make it safer), but even basic maintenance......for Decades!


PG&E has even been found liable in the deaths of more than 80 people due to a massive wildfire caused by faulty/failing company-owned equipment.


As a result, the State's power commission must now, routinely, shut off power to various California communities (mostly those in mountainous or foothill areas) when high winds could threaten powerline sparking.


Lay the blame where it belongs; Profit-seeking corporations more interested in the "bottom line" than in the welfare and lives of their (hostage) customers.

a reply to: Mantiss2021

Fire danger could be mitigated by clearing away underbrush, but that could disturb the habitat of the naked mole rat. Or something.

a reply to: FlyersFan

Well, to quote Wilkins Micawber from Dicken's David Copperfield:

Something will turn up.

a reply to: yeahright

A certain high-profile politician suggested something along those lines and was, as per usual, ridiculed and mocked for it. Turns out he was right. Again.

originally posted by: yeahright
a reply to: Mantiss2021

Fire danger could be mitigated by clearing away underbrush, but that could disturb the habitat of the naked mole rat. Or something.

Aproximately 57% of the forested land in California (where the underbrush is heaviest) is owned by (and the responsiblity of) the Federal Government!,, not the State.

a reply to: underpass61

That "certain high-profile politician" neglected to mention it was the federal government, which He, himself headed, that was responsible for maintaining most of those forests.


Yet we never saw him unpack his big rake toward that end, did we?

a reply to: Mantiss2021

Ok. Where did I say it wasn't? Put the blame wherever it belongs. State or federal, they both suck.