Energy

California’s gasoline watchdog found Chevron stations charged the highest average price of any major brand tracked in late May.

A million-square-foot data center became a lighting rod in this rural county. Local leaders filed lawsuits, proposed laws and organized a ballot measure to challenge it.

Data centers are expanding into water-stressed California communities, but lax disclosure rules keep the public in the dark about actual usage

Rooftop solar gets wrongly scapegoated for driving up utility bills. The dominant drivers are wildfire capital and guaranteed profits for the state's private utility companies.

Nuclear reactors can provide steady power for desalination at a low cost. Critics say money mustn’t take priority over health, safety or the environment.

Proposed changes to state climate law may boost gas-pump prices by up to $1 a gallon by 2030. Also more refineries and jobs may leave California.

Lake Tahoe’s longtime power supplier, NV Energy, will cut off the region next year. It has said data centers are driving “unprecedented” demand.

California built a first-in-the-nation system to police refinery profits during price spikes. Regulators delayed it for five years.

With some California gas prices topping $5 a gallon, anything that pushes prices even higher, like emissions crackdowns, will become a political football.

With thoughtful planning, California can gain new data centers in ways that benefit ratepayers, improve grid reliability and minimize environmental harms.