Regardless of the presidential election results, the clean energy transition is still a major priority for the nation’s electric utilities. Perhaps nowhere in the world is the pressure more intense than in Southern California, where the demands on the power grid are high and many residents are well acquainted with the consequences of aging, unsuitable infrastructure.

Many electric utilities now consider sustainability crucial to their overall strategy. However, as evidenced by countless examples of conservatives being elected on anti-environmental platforms, the majority of consumers just aren’t thinking that much about clean energy.

For the past four years, my team at J.D. Power and I have been analyzing customer awareness of and support for utilities’ climate programs and goals in an annual Sustainability Index. Without fail, we found that very few customers have any awareness of their utilities’ clean energy goals. This year’s index found that just 22% of customers knew their utilities had such goals, a figure that was even lower in previous years.

I experienced one aspect of this phenomenon as a consumer when I went through the grueling process of learning about and applying for California and federal rebates for an energy-efficient heat pump system I installed in my home last year. Even though I wrote about that ordeal for The Times and heard from consumers who had similar experiences, I have yet to get any response from my utility. Heat pumps have been a cornerstone of clean energy transition efforts, but when it comes to installing and using them and understanding their benefits, utilities are leaving consumers on their own.

A deep dive into my combined electric and gas bills showed that my total expenses dropped 3% in 2024 compared with the same period in 2022, before I began installing the system. And because average unit electricity prices increased by more than 20% in the interim, my adjusted heating costs are down more than 23%. In addition, I now have the benefit of air conditioning during summer heat waves, which I did not have prior to the conversion.

But before I could even begin to understand the extent of these benefits, I had to download reams of data from Pacific Gas & Electric Co.’s data hub, build a spreadsheet to organize and chart my energy use and utility billing trends, and cross-reference everything with federal greenhouse gas equivalency calculations. Does anyone think an average consumer would go through all this?

The experience illustrated the chasm between the way utilities communicate about environmental responsibility and the way consumers live it. The fact is, if any utilities are ever going to meet their sustainability targets — many of which call for reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 — they are going to need their customers to change their behavior. But given that few customers are even aware of these priorities, and that most are far more concerned about affordability than they are about sustainability, there is a complete disconnect between utility and customer goals.

But these goals can be aligned if the companies explain and promote them clearly and convincingly. We’re living through a historic transformation that has the potential to reinvent heating and cooling, travel and more. Smart-grid technologies can put individual homeowners at the center of the energy storage and transmission system. None of that will happen without massive consumer buy-in.

Utilities should be launching bold outreach strategies, investing in customer education on how to save money (and pollution) by adopting new technologies, and making it easy for consumers to help them reach their environmental goals. But most utilities are instead wasting their time talking about lofty sustainability targets that lack the substance and support they need to become reality.

Electric utilities have a huge opportunity to help customers save money and improve their experience, increase their own revenue and meet their clean energy goals. To do so, they need to start understanding and communicating effectively with their customers.

Andrew Heath is the vice president of utilities intelligence at J.D. Power.

Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. Here’s what you need to know to start your weekend:

The big California stories to watch in 2025, according to our newsroom

Just like that, we’re in the back half of the decade.

I won’t predict what 2025 will bring to the Golden State and wider world. But I will share the big stories I think will define life in California over the next 12 months:

• CA vs. DJT (Round 2). California fought President Trump constantly to safeguard its liberal policies. How will old battles and new fights play out in Trump’s second term?
• California voters challenged the state’s deep-blue reputation in the 2024 election. How will the pendulum swing away from progressive policies affect crime, incarceration, housing, low-wage labor and other facets of life in the Golden State?
• What will the real-time effects of climate change look like in California? How will our leaders and communities respond?
• Hollywood is still struggling. Will the industry, a major contributor to the state’s economy, reach a healthy rebound this year?

But I don’t do this alone. Telling California’s story is a newsroom-wide task, so I asked some of my colleagues what stories they would be following in 2025 and why. Here’s what they shared.

Gov. Gavin Newsom is maneuvering.

“The governor uses Trump as a foil to stoke his Democratic base,” Taryn Luna, who covers Newsom and state government, told me. Watch for Newsom to take advantage of every opportunity this year to contrast himself with the MAGA leader as buzz grows about his own potential presidential run in 2028.”

College campuses will almost certainly be another battlefield.

“President-elect Trump has said that many universities are run by ‘Marxist maniacs’ and has promised to reel in what he sees as professors and schools that veer too far to the left,” higher education reporter Jaweed Kaleem noted. “I’m curious if and how he will do that in California, a state with several of the top-ranked public and private universities in the country.”

Then there’s immigration.

“It colors this state from Silicon Valley to the Central Valley to the deep-blue politics that govern Sacramento,” columnist Gustavo Arellano shared. “Gov. Newsom, the State Legislature and many municipalities have vowed to fight whatever Trump may bring — but how will it actually play out? As California goes…”

The 2024 election results in California include the passage of a tough-on-crime ballot measure, along with confirmed or likely defeats for two progressive district attorneys and an initiative to give prisoners more labor rights.

(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

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California moved right on crime. Now what?

“Following a November election cycle that saw Californians overwhelmingly support tougher penalties on certain crimes and outright reject progressive prosecutors and sentencing reforms, I’ll be closely tracking the impacts of these policy shifts throughout the state,” James Queally, The Times’ crime and policing reporter, told me.

“I hate to say it, but I think the H5N1 bird flu outbreak is going to continue to pester us as we move into 2025.”

That’s input from environmental health reporter Susanne Rust. “Public health, agriculture and wildlife officials are all hoping it will peter out like so many flu and viral outbreaks before. But its reach into people, wildlife and our food supply make it seem like its grasp is secure — multiple reservoirs within which it has found safe harbor and room to mutate and evolve.”

Owning a home is probably not going to get any easier.

“Structural factors underlying California’s affordability problems, such as an inadequate supply of homes, should remain in 2025. And incoming-President Trump’s proposals are likely to add uncertainty in the broader market,” said housing reporter Liam Dillon.

Newsom and Sacramento Democrats could pit climate progress and cheap energy against each other.

“With electric rates continuing to rise and gasoline prices always too high, Gov. Gavin Newsom and state legislative leaders have pledged to make energy affordability a top priority in 2025,” climate columnist Sammy Roth shared. “In theory, that should be good news for clean energy, since solar and wind power are already cheaper than fossil fuels, and electric cars continue to come down in cost. But the political realities are often more complicated.”

Dolly grip Diego Mariscal, who created the Facebook group Crew Stories in 2017, has seen the emotional toll of Hollywood’s slowdown firsthand.

(Jennifer Rose Clasen)

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Hollywood limps on.

“Last year, Hollywood’s crew members clung to the mantra ‘survive til ’25,’ but as we enter 2025, survival still feels like the name of the game. Strikes, streaming cutbacks, runaway productions and AI advances have left below-the-line workers scrambling for stability,” film business reporter Josh Rottenberg told me. “With diversity gains slipping and a fragmented audience reshaping what gets made, this year could be a turning point — or another uphill battle — for the people who keep the film business running.”

Could Kamala Harris run for governor?

Politics reporter Julia Wick told me she’ll be paying attention to what Kamala Harris does next and the ramifications for California politics.

“If Harris gets into the 2026 gubernatorial race [a big if!] her presence would totally scramble the race and clear some of the field,” she explained. “Her presence would also create a chaotic domino effect on down-ballot races, as other candidates reassess their chances and scramble to run for other things.”

California’s big transportation goals could face some bumps in the road (and tracks).

From LAX’s $30-billion overhaul ahead of the 2028 Olympics to high-speed rail to electric cars, there’s a lot of plans to cut traffic congestion and clear the state’s awful air.

But transportation reporter Colleen Shalby says we should expect some friction with the incoming administration on multiple fronts.

“California’s high-speed rail project has already faced uncertainty, with tens of billions of unidentified dollars to finish the train and no clear deadline for completion as construction has so far been isolated to the Central Valley,” she told me. “Trump’s Cabinet picks have identified the project as one that has wasted federal dollars and a state lawmaker plans to introduce legislation to defund it,” she shared.

The week’s biggest stories

A Tesla Cybertruck is shown after an explosion outside the Trump International Hotel on Wednesday in Las Vegas.

(Associated Press)

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Mystery surrounds the decorated Green Beret who killed himself and exploded a Tesla Cybertruck

• The case is being investigated as a possible act of terrorism, though officials said they are still trying to find a motive for the violence.
• Here is what we know about the Green Beret who has been identified as the driver of the Cybertruck.
• Federal officials say there is no direct link between the explosion and the attack in New Orleans that killed at least 14 people, but the investigation continues.

Newsom aims to limit unhealthy food in California, getting ahead of Trump and RFK Jr.

• Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order on Friday attempting to limit access to ultra-processed foods, a move he described as a continuation of California’s “nation-leading” nutrition and health standards.
• The governor did not mention Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has also been a vocal critic of ultra-processed foods. But Newsom’s order signals his refusal to concede the issue to the incoming Trump administration.

Drug overdose deaths have plummeted in San Francisco. What’s changed?

• The city recorded 586 fatal overdoses in the first 11 months of 2024. That represents a nearly 23% decrease, or 174 fewer deaths, compared with the first 11 months of 2023.
• Experts credit better access to overdose-reversal medication and medications that ease opioid addiction, as well as the waning effects of the COVID pandemic.

The question sending shockwaves through Hollywood: How did Blake Lively get those damaging texts?

More big stories

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This week’s must reads

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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Her mother’s killer, now sick with prostate cancer, was released last year under California’s newest compassionate release law. The daughter now wants to change the state’s reform laws.

“The person who murdered my mother has been released. That tells me something is very, very wrong in California,” the daughter said.

More great reads

How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com.

For your weekend

New year, new month and new restaurants and bars to check out.

(Collage by Brandon Ly / Los Angeles Times; photos by Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)

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Going out

Staying in

How well did you follow the news this week? Take our quiz.

(Times staff and wire photos)

Which Los Angeles Laker notched his 40th birthday earlier this week? Plus nine other questions from our weekly news quiz.

Have a great weekend, from the Essential California team

Ryan Fonseca, reporter

Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on latimes.com.