That’s why nearly all states have regulatory commissions that set the rates for utilities. Since they’re monopolies, they have their rates set by the state.
This is California - a sapphire blue state. It seems highly unlikely that the rate-setting body would allow the utilities to charge double the national rate if they were producing electricity at a lower cost than the national rate. Or even at a cost somewhat above the national rate. So we can infer that despite having one of the largest proportions of solar anywhere, California still has a pretty high cost of electricity generation compared to the national norm. Which is, again, somewhat incongruous given that solar is supposed to be one of the cheaper ways to generate power these days. Now that CA has grown its solar sector so much, and it’s so mature, how can their costs still be that high?
But CA isn’t producing electricity at lower rates than the US average for the simple reason it isn’t paying its workers the average US wage rate.
Let’s make the assumption that normal, above-the-table wages are tied the cost of living experienced by workers in a region’s or local economy’s labor pool. (Else, they strike or migrate.) The cost of living in CA is 142.3 when the national average is scaled to be 100. The cost of living in a nearby state, Idaho, is 99.9. The cost of household kilowatts in CA is said to be 33 and change. The cost in Idaho, 8 and change, or 4x less. Is Idaho really producing power that much more cheaply than CA? Or is CA running a scam?
So, yeah. CA electricity is expensive relative to its workers’ purchasing power. But when was the last time you saw deflation happening in a service industry? Electricity rates in CA will never retreat, nor will the corruption that’s endemic there at the legislative and regulatory level ever cease. That’s just an unpleasant part of living in CA and/or the cost of doing business there, which is part of the reason CA leads the nation in outflows of people and businesses.
CA used to be a good place to grow up. Many parts still are, because CA isn’t one state, but at least eight cultures, climates, and regional economies. Get on some the backroads between 101 North and I-5, or some of the inland valleys south of Monterey and north of Santa Barbara, and you’re back in the '50s, where life slows down and people still wave.