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Mohit Chhabra @surfswamy.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

like –studies show that increase in consumption is correlated with lower rates, so isn’t it true that data centers will reduce rates for everyone? Not necessarily. Read on to find out why. Hopefully this will help you out.

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Mohit Chhabra @surfswamy.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

Most analysis of rate and bill impacts about data centers miss this bit, and at least in my opinion, don’t provide the full picture. I work through that and provide answers to common questions and misconceptions

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Mohit Chhabra @surfswamy.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

www.nrdc.org/media/ai-sho... Claims about whether data centers are raising rates or not are as much a matter of perspective as math. Regulators should do what they can to set data center tariffs that put downward pressure on rates for all other customers.

nrdc.org

AI Should Pull Its Own (Electric) Weight, and a Little Bit of Yours

Claims about whether data centers are raising rates or not are as much a matter of perspective as math. Regulators should do what they can to set data center tariffs that put downward pressure on rate...

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Mohit Chhabra @surfswamy.bsky.social · 05/12/2025

A big thanks to Kent Strauss and Blue Biome consulting. www.blue-biome.org

blue-biome.org

Blue Biome

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Mohit Chhabra @surfswamy.bsky.social · 05/12/2025

My colleague Jordan Brinn and I developed a methodology to prepare the grid while keeping utility spending and electric rates in check. It's hard to thread the needle but it's possible. A big thanks to Kent Strauss for all his analysis to help develop this.

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Mohit Chhabra @surfswamy.bsky.social · 05/12/2025

Distribution system planning is hard especially as the uncertainty in grid needs increases as new loads like heat pumps and electric cars come online.

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Mohit Chhabra @surfswamy.bsky.social · 27/06/2025

Oh totally. We really made an effort to be balanced, and in doing so some of these things get missed. I appreciate you pointing it out. And the good word!

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Mohit Chhabra @surfswamy.bsky.social · 27/06/2025

That's a good critique. I wrestled with that a little while writing.

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Mohit Chhabra @surfswamy.bsky.social · 18/06/2025

Are public utilities the answer to California's electric sector woes? It's complicated. Check out a new paper that I helped draft for UCLA's Emmett Institute for answers.

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Reposted by Mohit Chhabra

UCLA Emmett Institute @uclalawemmett.bsky.social · 18/06/2025

California’s investor-owned utilities are under scrutiny for causing deadly wildfires and sky-high electricity rates. Would public ownership fix these electricity woes? Our new report by Ruthie Lazenby, @sylvieashford.bsky.social and @surfswamy.bsky.social sheds light. 💡 ➡️ ucla.in/3G5f8tW

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Mohit Chhabra @surfswamy.bsky.social · 07/04/2025

Maybe he means it's a tax on all consumption and any reduction in economic activity would reduce global CO2 emissions??? Would need to account for changes in global production and consumption tho, as some of these goods will now flow to other countries.

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Mohit Chhabra @surfswamy.bsky.social · 11/03/2025

The crux of the issue is that we've been funding growing costs of climate adaptation, wildfire resilience, through electric rates and designing electric rates inefficiently. The solutions are commensurate.

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Mohit Chhabra @surfswamy.bsky.social · 11/03/2025

A big thanks to Abbie Weeks, now at RMI, for all her great work on this.

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Mohit Chhabra @surfswamy.bsky.social · 11/03/2025

This report provides insight into how different utility asks should be funded, how IOUs in CA can be better regulated, and the role of rate design in providing incentives and achieving equitable outcomes

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Mohit Chhabra @surfswamy.bsky.social · 11/03/2025

NRDC just published research identifying causes of and solutions to steeply rising electricity prices in CA, with a focus on PG&E. Keeping electricity affordable is essential in itself and a prerequisite to decarbonization.

nrdc.org

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Mohit Chhabra @surfswamy.bsky.social · 18/02/2025

A good case study of what happens when politics, policy, and economic efficiency collide. What's the median outcome, what's gained, and what's lost.

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Reposted by Mohit Chhabra

Severin Borenstein @severinborenstein.bsky.social · 27/01/2025

My EI blog post today addresses the claim from CA's rooftop solar industry that the 2023 change in net energy metering rules devastated their business. State's DG database shows it didn't. Just pulled forward sales to beat the new policy. energyathaas.wordpress.com/2025/01/27/g... #EnergySky

energyathaas.wordpress.com

Guess What Didn’t Kill Rooftop Solar?

California’s solar industry is doing just fine despite their complaints about net energy metering reform. There is a new administration in DC producing a raft of misguided actions to bolster fossil…

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Mohit Chhabra @surfswamy.bsky.social · 22/01/2025

You recommend a marginal abatement cost approach for jurisdictions with environmental and/or GHG reduction goals?

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Mohit Chhabra @surfswamy.bsky.social · 19/01/2025

Not very. You can check out the CPUC SB 695 report to get an idea. I think there was an attempt to link with the tax board, but it wasn't successful. So, IGFC. The wildfire fund is like an insurance fund.

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Mohit Chhabra @surfswamy.bsky.social · 19/01/2025

The issue is that most grid related costs, especially in CA, aren't caused by usage. Think of all the billions of $$ spent on wildfire mitigation measures like tree trimming. How to collect those costs is a policy decision. If you want to solve for equity, then you'd do something like the IGFC.

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Mohit Chhabra @surfswamy.bsky.social · 17/01/2025

True, but note that utilities sell their long term contracted power back into the spot market. CAISO dispatches all resources. Difference between long term contract price and the spot price is passed on to or collected from ratepayers.

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Mohit Chhabra @surfswamy.bsky.social · 10/01/2025

I understand where you're coming from and possibly the disconnect. Maybe, if less driving was the primary goal then the tool would be a tax on gasoline. I think the goal here is less driving in and out of a specific region during certain times (or something like that).

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Mohit Chhabra @surfswamy.bsky.social · 07/01/2025

The drivers also include: presence of clean energy/ renewable policy goals, and resource potential.

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Mohit Chhabra @surfswamy.bsky.social · 02/01/2025

This needs to be done separately for different regions of interest. The total soft costs, and what these soft costs are made of, will be very different in California versus Arizona versus Minnesota for example.

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Mohit Chhabra @surfswamy.bsky.social · 02/01/2025

The soft costs vary by region. One way to estimate the total is to look at NREL's ATB reports that do a bottom-up calculation of what it could ideally cost to install rooftop solar, look up actual installation costs from the tracking the sun report (LBNL?), then take the difference between the two.

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Mohit Chhabra @surfswamy.bsky.social · 29/12/2024

Part of it is the state utility regulator's job to ensure that utilities comply with resource adequacy/ have enough capacity to serve all loads including newer loads. There are some regions where regulators have less influence on this matter ofc.

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Mohit Chhabra @surfswamy.bsky.social · 28/12/2024

IMHO it's good to deviate from what's economically efficient if there are strong policy reasons to do so. Just be upfront about it, what the pros and cons are. Leads to better decision making.

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Mohit Chhabra @surfswamy.bsky.social · 28/12/2024

Fair, and this is a common retort to economic analysis. Note that my response was to the statement that 'other solutions may be more efficient.' Policy priorities are real, and it's important to talk about them as such. Not mix up with efficiency of outcomes.

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Mohit Chhabra @surfswamy.bsky.social · 28/12/2024

PTO to the max, come back and push back to the max. Above is just what math says and there is enough economic research on this. Disagreements are about policy priorities.

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Mohit Chhabra @surfswamy.bsky.social · 28/12/2024

I disagree but I'm enthusiastic to change my mind when I see better evidence. Hopefully from your research. The problem with a lot of advocacy in this space is that they confuse what costs are marginal to usage versus marginal to other things. I need to write a paper on this. 2025 goals.

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Mohit Chhabra @surfswamy.bsky.social · 28/12/2024

Mathematically it's impossible to be more economically efficient and progressive than (1) pricing usage at social marginal cost and (2) collecting all residual utility revenue from the tax base. All other methods are second best with tradeoffs.

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Mohit Chhabra @surfswamy.bsky.social · 28/12/2024

You can say highly contested again ;)

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Mohit Chhabra @surfswamy.bsky.social · 28/12/2024

I've seen a lot of "here's this artificial TOU structure that makes the math work out on our policy priority" which doesn't come close to addressing that basic question. You will likely find that different tools get better results in different regions.

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Mohit Chhabra @surfswamy.bsky.social · 28/12/2024

Curious to see what you come up with Joe. Make sure you put all the tradeoffs out there. The basic challenge - accurately defining marginal costs - then collecting non -marginal costs that can be up to 80% of total revenue in a fair/ equitable/ non distortionary way never goes away.

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Mohit Chhabra @surfswamy.bsky.social · 28/12/2024

Anytime. And if you want I'm happy to email it to you.

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Mohit Chhabra @surfswamy.bsky.social · 28/12/2024

And (3) a ton of confusion on the right approach to design rates and what is marginal to/ casual from consumption. It was a good step forward, now we need to improve.

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Mohit Chhabra @surfswamy.bsky.social · 28/12/2024

Yup. You should check out my original testimony. Some of that is in the link I posted above. There were a few big barriers. (1) Industry inertia = rooftop solar and EE companies like high usage/ volumetric rates. (2) Customer inertia = wealthy coastal customers don't want to pay more and are louder

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Mohit Chhabra @surfswamy.bsky.social · 28/12/2024

That was the story of my life for a year. Fought so hard to make (a) better, but given politics this is the best we could get at that time. It's still too little.

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Mohit Chhabra @surfswamy.bsky.social · 28/12/2024

Would the different externalities be traced through different means (a congestion price for local congestion, a carbon tax for gasoline use, a road tax for road use that accounts for miles × weight, etc.) or rolled into one payment? I prefer the former.

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Mohit Chhabra @surfswamy.bsky.social · 27/12/2024

I don't think they look at tire wear and tear, but they compare the social marginal cost of gasoline versus electricity usage and account for the social cost of carbon and I think air pollution as well.

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Mohit Chhabra @surfswamy.bsky.social · 27/12/2024

Check out Severin and James Bushnell's work on the social marginal costs of electricity vs. Gasoline vs gas. I've done similar work on heat pumps vs. gas appliances over their useful life. www.rff.org/publications...

rff.org

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Mohit Chhabra @surfswamy.bsky.social · 26/12/2024

Regulators who have to eventually make RA policy. I'm sure bias is involved in a lot of cases, but it's genuinely hard. I can't comment on NERC as I haven't studied their work you reference

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