Recent cyberattacks highlight the vulnerability of California schools

Per Joe Hong at CalMatters: “While the Los Angeles Unified attack attracted the media spotlight, cyberattacks on school districts happen frequently nationwide. According to Emsisoft, a cybersecurity software company that tracks cyberattacks, there were 58 school districts and 1,681 schools across the country affected by cyberattacks in 2021. So far this year, 29 districts and 1,735 schools have been affected.

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Who’s to blame for California’s high gas prices?

Per Dan Walters at CalMatter: “Rather, it’s been repeatedly demonstrated that California’s relatively high gas prices are largely, if not completely, explainable by unique factors such as the state’s particular refining recipe meant to minimize smog-producing emissions, its high taxes, and its overall high cost of doing business.” https://calmatters.org/commentary/2022/10/whos-to-blame-for-californias-high-gas-prices/

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Schools and libraries oppose proposed mandatory national bidding portal for E-rate as counterproductive

The Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition, the State E-rate Coordinators’ Alliance, and the Consortium for School Networking have written a letter to the Federal Communications Commission in opposition to a proposed mandatory E-rate national bidding portal. As noted in the letter, the portal is unnecessary and would be ineffective in mitigating fraud risk in the E-rate program. https://spurr.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/SECA-SHLB-CoSN-DOJ-Response-Letter-10.7.2022-filed-3.pdf

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97% of smart meters fail to provide promised customer benefits

California’s experience shows customer access to real-time data does not compromise privacy or security, Mission:data’s Murray insisted. Utilities’ excuses “hide concern with revenue losses from lower kWh sales,” an intent to avoid “liability and customer support burdens,” or “competition from third parties for services they may eventually offer,” he said. https://www.utilitydive.com/news/97-of-smart-meters-fail-to-provide-promised-customer-benefits-can-3b-in/632662/

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Possible federal incentives for electricity as a vehicle fuel

In SPURR’s Low Carbon Fuel Standards (LCFS) Program, operators of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicle fueling stations receive funds for credits created as part of two incentive programs. There is both a State of CA program (called LCFS) and a federal program (called RIN). SPURR ran a competitive solicitation resulting in an award to a “credit monetizer” firm, Anew Climate

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CA Becomes First State to Fully Eliminate Ratepayer Subsidies for Gas Line Extensions 

On September 15th, The California Public Utilities Commission unanimously voted to “entirely eliminate ratepayer subsidies for the extension of new gas lines beginning in July,” reports Utility Dive. The decision comes alongside a current push to decarbonize the building sector.  CPUC Commissioner Clifford Rechtschaffen explained, at the agency’s voting meeting, that though multiple options for subsidies existed beforehand, they no

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Wholesale power prices in California spiked in Sep 2022. Why did that happen– and how high did they go?

Lucas Davis, Jeffrey A. Jacobs Distinguished Professor in Business and Technology at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, recently revealed insights about the effect of record-breaking summer heat waves on power prices. i“The September heat wave was historic, both in intensity and in length,” said Jacobs.  “Air conditioning pushed electricity demand to a new all-time

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Get Your District to 100% LED With No Out of Pocket Cost and Streamlined Procurement

Description of webinarVector Energy Group is thrilled to host a new webinar on energy conservation projects and how school districts can achieve efficiency goals with the help of state programs and funding. Together we will review and discuss one of our most recent project, an LED lighting retrofit completed at the Golden Plains Unified School District and how they were

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