Latest news with #CPUC
Business Insider
4 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Here's how quickly people started taking robotaxis as Waymo expanded in California
Since its debut to the California public in 2022, Waymo has seen a rapid increase in ridership, showing how humans are increasingly entrusting their lives to robot drivers. Here are a few numbers that show it. In March 2022, Waymo provided more than 3,700 rides, according to data published by the California Public Utilities Commission. At the time, Waymo was limited to staff or pre-approved riders in San Francisco. The company would later open a waitlist, allowing limited members of the public to sign up for rides. The Alphabet company expanded to Los Angeles in November 2024 and other parts of the San Francisco Bay Area in March 2025, increasing the number of rides to 708,180 in the state. Another way to look at it: When Waymo began offering paid rides in August 2023, the number of rides provided in California was just 12,617. In less than two years, the number of riders increased by more than 5,500%. In total, Waymo provided more than 5 million rides in three years. Naturally, the number of traffic incidents also increased. Between March and May 2022, Waymo reported 17 collisions, the CPUC data showed. Between January and March 2025, the number of collisions increased to 132. However, an analysis by Business Insider showed that the rate of collisions decreased significantly when incidents per 100,000 rides were considered. Between March and May 2022, the rate of collisions was about 147 collisions per 100,000 rides. Between January and March 2025, when Waymo provided more than 1.8 million rides, the rate decreased to about 7 collisions per 100,000 rides — about a 95% decrease from 2022. The CPUC data only shows a part of Waymo's overall expansion. Waymo said that it had provided more than 5 million rides across all operating cities by the end of 2024. In May, the company said it had surpassed 10 million rides across its operating cities in Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Austin. That means Waymo just about doubled its ridership in less than half a year. In a recent blog post, the company said it operates 1,500 robotaxis and plans to add 2,000 more by 2026.
Politico
5 days ago
- Business
- Politico
All noisy on the Western solar panel front
Presented by the Stop the Oil Shakedown Coalition. With help from Alex Nieves and Timothy Cama SOLAR WARS: There's enough heat behind California's long-simmering rooftop solar fight that it's boiling over on two fronts this week. On Wednesday, the California Supreme Court will hear arguments from both sides on whether regulators broke the law when they slashed rooftop solar credits for new customers in 2022. At the same time, assemblymembers have a Friday deadline to pass (or not) a controversial legislative proposal to reduce the payments for legacy rooftop solar customers. The multipronged fight shows just how entrenched the two camps are — with rooftop solar advocates allying with builders and real estate agents on one side and utilities with labor unions and ratepayer advocates on the other — and just how willing they are to take their arguments to as many venues as possible. It's a fight that's likely to continue, given that the Supreme Court appears poised to rule narrowly — and perhaps not even on the policy debate itself. Instead, the Supreme Court's clerk and executive officer, Jorge Navarrete, asked lawyers last month to focus on how much the judicial branch should give deference to the California Public Utilities Commission when reviewing its various decisions. A lower court had previously cited deference to the CPUC — one of the rare state agencies created by the California Constitution itself — to reject a lawsuit by environmental groups that sought to restore the rooftop solar subsidies. For the environmental groups, the focus on deference is now an opportunity to take their fight to the agency itself, which some see as too cozy with the investor-owned utilities it regulates. 'Already, there's a gap in checks and balances on the commission,' said Roger Lin, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, which is bringing the lawsuit against the CPUC. 'The implications of this case stretch beyond rooftop solar.' The investor-owned utilities, who otherwise argued in support of the CPUC's decision, declined to weigh in on how much the court should defer to the agency in a filing earlier this year. But Attorney General Rob Bonta's office is defending the agency, arguing in a brief that the CPUC deserves deference because of precedent, because of the agency's expertise and because the Legislature has 'repeatedly tasked the Commission with studying the effects of the NEM tariff and revising it as appropriate.' It's timely, then, to point out that the Legislature is currently considering doing part of the commission's work itself. Assemblymember Lisa Calderon's AB 942 would slash the payments to longstanding rooftop solar customers who got spared by the CPUC's 2022 decision to reduce payments solely for new customers. Calderon agreed this week to exempt farms and schools, which is eliminating opposition from farming groups close to some moderate Democrats. She also picked up support from the CPUC's Public Advocates Office, which said the measure could reduce costs for ratepayers without rooftop solar. But it'll come down to the wire: Some progressive Democrats have already peeled off from the bill in committee votes, citing concerns from their constituents with rooftop solar that the bill would break existing contracts. The Supreme Court will start hearing arguments at 9 a.m. on Wednesday (and it will be livestreamed if you want to follow along). AB 942 has until Friday to pass off the Assembly floor. — CvK Did someone forward you this newsletter? Sign up here! MUSK MANIA: Elon Musk has finally returned to his roots — and Democrats are loving it. Musk's departure from the White House, where he was once among Trump's top advisers, took an explosive turn Tuesday as the Tesla CEO ripped Republicans' budget megabill on X, calling it a 'disgusting abomination' that will raise the national debt. As we've noted, Musk's company never stopped stumping for California policies like the low-carbon fuel standard, even as Trump promised to unravel the state's regulations and Republicans blamed state officials for high gas prices. The eccentric billionaire was always expected to eventually butt heads with an administration poised to throttle the electric vehicle transition and eliminate clean energy incentives his company has profited greatly from. While the episode shocked Republicans and drew pushback from House Speaker Mike Johnson, Democrats could barely hide their excitement, Timothy Cama reports for POLITICO's E&E News. 'I haven't spoke to Elon Musk, I'm not sure what the reasons are for this extraordinary statement, but we're in complete agreement,' House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said. — AN WE HAVE A BEE PROBLEM: California lawmakers are coming to the rescue of one of nature's most important insects: honeybees. The Assembly unanimously approved Assemblymember Rhodesia Ransom's bill today to launch a program within the California Department of Food and Agriculture to monitor the health of honeybee populations. AB 1042 would allow the department, when extra funding is available, to provide incentives and grants for health intervention projects to support the state's managed honeybee population. The critical species is responsible for pollinating crops like fruits and tree nuts that underpin the state's agriculture sector and maintaining natural ecosystems, but are dying in large numbers due to climate change, habitat loss, pesticides and other factors. Commercial beekeepers reported an average loss of 62 percent of their bee colonies between June 2024 and February of this year, according to a national survey by Project Apis m. (honeybees' Latin name). — AN RECYCLE THE REDO: Gov. Gavin Newsom told CalRecycle to redo its plastic waste reduction rules in the name of affordability. Now, the lawmakers that passed the law behind the rules say the redo goes against their intent — and that they were the ones who wanted to make recycling affordable to begin with. Twenty-two lawmakers joined Sen. Ben Allen, the author of 2022's SB 54, in a letter to Newsom, CalEPA Secretary Yana Garcia and CalRecycle Director Zoe Heller last week. Their goal all along, they write, was to lower costs to cities and ratepayers by making manufacturers responsible for recycling their products. The new rules, they argue, stray from their intent by exempting too much food and medication packaging and not preventing hazardous recycling technologies. A coalition of environmental groups including Oceana and Californians Against Waste also blasted the new rules Monday. 'Getting this right is about more than checking a legislative box,' the letter reads. 'California has an opportunity to lead in the global effort to tackle plastic pollution, but not if vague, watered-down language subverts that very goal.' Who is happy: the California Chamber of Commerce, which is arguing that the new rules are more achievable. Spokesperson John Myers shared a takeaway: 'By fostering a regulatory environment that balances ecological responsibility with economic viability, the state sets a precedent for sustainable innovation of a circular economy.' — CvK TWO STRIKES: It's been a bad week for Sable Offshore Corp.'s oil drilling ambitions. Santa Barbara Superior Court Judge Donna Geck issued an order Tuesday blocking a waiver granted by the state fire marshal that would allow the Texas-based oil company to restart a crude pipeline off Santa Barbara. That decision comes just days after a different Santa Barbara judge sided with the California Coastal Commission and stopped repairs on the 124-mile pipeline that leaked over 100,000 gallons in 2015. Linda Krop, chief counsel for the Environmental Defense Center, which sued the fire marshal and Sable, cheered the rulings and used the moment to call out Newsom, who has stayed relatively quiet on the issue. 'At the very least, Governor Newsom should demand that his agencies follow the law and do everything possible to prevent another ecological and economic disaster in our state,' she said. — AN — Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has a message for climate activists worried about the White House: roll up your sleeves and "stop whining.' — Southern California is being hit with a triple whammy of thunderstorms, dry lightning and rip tides. — Underground water supplies in the Colorado River basin are depleting even faster than the river itself, according to a new study based on NASA satellite data.
Miami Herald
5 days ago
- Business
- Miami Herald
Groups head to California Supreme Court, seeking to upend solar rules
SAN DIEGO - In a few days, three environmental groups - including one from San Diego - get their chance to try to persuade the California Supreme Court to overturn a controversial rooftop solar policy issued by the California Public Utilities Commission nearly three years ago. "We've been working on this for a long time and we hope the court makes the right decision," said Roger Lin, senior attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity. The hearing is scheduled for Wednesday in Los Angeles. The case centers on whether the utilities commission, known as the CPUC, made the legally correct call when it changed the rules regarding how the estimated 2 million rooftop solar customers in California get compensated when their systems generate more electricity than they consume. In December 2022, the CPUC's five commissioners unanimously voted to approve the third iteration of the state's Net Energy Metering program, dubbed NEM 3.0. The complex 260-page decision included incentives to encourage customers to pair their solar installations with battery storage systems. But the portion of the decision that raised the most hackles revised the rules so that new rooftop solar customers would no longer be credited at the retail rate of electricity when their systems generated surplus energy. Instead, they get paid at the "actual avoided cost," which is lower. The CPUC's decision, which went into effect in April 2023, said the change sends "more accurate price signals that encourage electrification" across the state. The commission determined that changes need to be made, agreeing in large part with California utilities who said the earlier NEM rules were too generous. They argued that the growing number of rooftop installations leads to a "cost shift" that leaves customers who don't have solar paying an unfair share of the fixed costs that come with maintaining the electric system - substations, transformers, poles and wires, etc. But opponents of the CPUC decision have long disputed the cost-shift argument, saying that it does not properly take into account the benefits of rooftop solar, such as reducing the need for utilities to spend ratepayer dollars on building more infrastructure. They also argue that the lower compensation rate undercuts the incentive for potential customers to put solar on their roofs because it will take longer for new customers to recoup the cost of spending thousands of dollars on their installations. Shortly after the CPUC decision, the Center for Biological Diversity, the Environmental Working Group and San Diego-based Protect Our Communities Foundation tried to overturn NEM 3.0's rules. After the CPUC rebuffed the groups' request for a rehearing, the trio took their case to the California Court of Appeals. But in a 40-page ruling in December 2023, Associate Justice Victor Rodríguez authored a 3-0 decision upholding the CPUC's decision, saying, "We must give 'great weight' to the Commission's interpretation of the provisions of the Public Utilities Code." Rodríguez went on to write, "This uniquely deferential standard of review is accorded the Commission because of its status as 'a constitutional body with broad legislative and judicial powers.' " Undeterred, the three groups petitioned the California Supreme Court to hear their case, and last year the high court agreed. It's on the docket for oral arguments before all seven justices during Wednesday's morning session. "This case revolves around whether the Public Utilities Commission actually looked at the cost and benefits of rooftop solar, specifically," said Lin of the Center for Biological Diversity, citing a statute passed by the state Legislature that calls on the CPUC to promote the growth of renewable power in the state. The petitioners also argue the appeals court gave too much deference to the CPUC and the ruling did not go far enough to help disadvantaged communities. A spokesperson for the CPUC declined to comment on the commission's defense of its NEM 3.0 ruling, citing the "ongoing litigation," but referred to the arguments made in the appeals court ruling. Court observers say it's very unlikely the California Supreme Court will issue a ruling on Wednesday; rather, a decision is expected in about month or so. With more than 2 million solar systems atop homes, businesses and other locations, California has more rooftop installations than any state in the nation. As the new rules are currently written, solar customers who had their systems installed under earlier iterations of NEM still get compensated at the retail rate for 20 years from the time their systems were installed before they are switched to the new rules. For example, a customer who had a system installed in 2018 gets credited at the retail rate until 2038. But after that, the customer will be credited at the lower NEM 3.0 rate. Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Alphabet's Waymo has Secured Approval to Expand its Driverless Ride-Hailing Service to San Jose
The approval of Waymo, the autonomous vehicle company of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL), to extend its driverless ride-hailing services to San Jose and other areas of the South Bay marks a significant regulatory milestone. According to Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)'s CEO Sundar Pichai, Waymo is forming alliances with automakers, ride-hailing service Uber, and operations and maintenance companies that look after its fleets of vehicles. On May 19, 2025, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) formally authorized Waymo's Passenger Safety Plan, paving the road for the tech giant to extend its service area across the Peninsula and beyond San Francisco. This regulatory development follows Waymo's March submission of a proposal to the CPUC outlining its goals to increase its commercial footprint in the Bay Area. The business wrote in a Monday post on X: "We're very excited to share that the CPUC has approved our application to operate our fully autonomous commercial ride-hailing service in the South Bay and nearly all of San Jose!' 'While this won't change our operations in the near-term, we're looking forward to bringing the benefits of Waymo One to more of the Bay Area in the future." "Waymo embodies our region's spirit of innovation — so it's about time they joined us here in the Capital of Silicon Valley," remarked San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, who expressed early support for the expansion. The California DMV is assessing new rules for self-driving car operations, which is why Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)'s Waymo is expanding at a rapid pace. As of April, the business reported providing over 250,000 Waymo paid rides per week around the United States, continuing to scale its commercial deployment. In the same month, Waymo announced its first collaboration with Toyota to explore the incorporation of autonomous technology into privately owned automobiles. While we acknowledge the potential of GOOGL to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than GOOGL and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this READ NEXT: and Disclosure: None.
TechCrunch
20-05-2025
- Business
- TechCrunch
Waymo gets OK to expand robotaxi service into more of Silicon Valley
The California Public Utilities Commission has approved Waymo's request to expand its commercial robotaxi service area, opening the door for the Alphabet company to bring its driverless ride-hailing vehicles into more communities south of San Francisco. The company said in a post on X the approval won't change its plans in the near term. Today, Waymo operates a commercial robotaxi service in all of San Francisco as well as parts of the Peninsula. It also provides driverless rides to paying customers throughout several Silicon Valley cities, including parts of Mountain View, Palo Alto, Los Altos, and Sunnyvale. In all, the company's service area is about 85 square miles covering San Francisco and Silicon Valley. We're very excited to share that the CPUC has approved our application to operate our fully autonomous commercial ride-hailing service in the South Bay and nearly all of San Jose! While this won't change our operations in the near-term, we're looking forward to bringing the… — Waymo (@Waymo) May 19, 2025 The company is also aiming to unlock access to the San Francisco International Airport, although those plans are on a much longer timeline. Waymo was given permission in March to map roadways at SFO via a temporary permit. Waymo vehicles will not operate autonomously in the airport; employees will manually drive the vehicles to map the area. But the permit signals the beginning of a phased approach to Waymo eventually operating commercially there. Waymo provides 250,000 paid trips each week across its operations, which extends to Los Angeles, Phoenix, and more recently Austin.
