Former California energy czar releases climate transition plan

By Wes Venteicher | 07/31/2024 06:17 AM EDT

Ana Matosantos, formerly of Govs. Jerry Brown’s and Gavin Newsom’s administrations, helped write a new report digging into the state’s energy planning constraints.

A former top energy official in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration is pushing for California to flesh out its climate plans for the electricity sector in more detail.

Ana Matosantos, Newsom’s former “energy czar,” co-helmed a deep-dive report on California’s climate transition on Tuesday alongside Boston Consulting Group researchers.

The state’s energy transition is constrained primarily by a regulatory apparatus that wasn’t built for speed and by a lack of clarity from policymakers on what resources the state plans to use to keep the lights on after the sun goes down, according to the report, which was funded by California’s investor-owned utilities.

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Matosantos, who managed the state’s response to energy crises in 2020 and 2022, said the report illustrates in new detail how California can achieve its goal of a carbon-neutral economy by 2045 — if it can just get out of its own way.

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