Large new electricity loads should pay their full grid costs — and help build the local clean energy that protects ratepayers.
California is entering a period of major electricity-demand growth. Data centers and other large new loads are colliding with an affordability crisis — creating public backlash, but also a rare policy opening. Our proposition: large new loads should pay the full incremental costs they create, and help build the local solar, storage, and flexible-demand resources that make the grid — and the communities hosting that growth — stronger. This isn't a subsidy for solar or an unlimited surcharge on growth; it's a grid-planning and cost- responsibility framework tied to measurable impact.
A near-term legislative opening gives us an immediate way into the current Sacramento discussion. Our longer-term objective is a durable California LEIF that applies to qualifying large new loads statewide, advanced through 2026–2028.
"Cost Causation, Not Cost Shifting" — An Independent Analysis of Large-Load Grid Costs and the Path to Affordable Local Clean Energy
This foundation phase builds the evidentiary record that regulators, legislators, and opponents will test. It will:
Once the foundation is in place, we advance the policy through these vehicles that launch together and run in parallel through 2028:
Whether you want to support our research, join the coalition, request a briefing, or partner with us — there's a place for you in California's clean energy future.