On this week’s Fresnolandia podcast, Jordan and Danielle speak with Martha Guzman, an energy and environmental policy wonk who has held positions as a Commissioner at the California Public Utilities Commission, appointed by former Gov. Jerry Brown; and most recently as the Biden appointee to head the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency west coast office in San Francisco until January.
Guzman, a Sacramento native, has also spent a lot of time in the Central Valley, working earlier in her career for the United Farm Workers’ union and co-founding Communities for a New California, an advocacy nonprofit.
They discussed why it’s so difficult to regulate and reduce utility rates; whether public utilities are a better option for customers; if investor owned utility profits are the problem; and, if the solar farm expansions in the valley could help reduce energy costs for local residents.
