The Special Case of California

"Why are Californians so much better at conserving energy than the rest of the country? At least, it looks like they are: Since 1975, per capita electricity use in California has barely budged, while it's shot up 50 percent across the rest of the United States. Some observers have credited the state's aggressive energy-efficiency policies—everything from installing LED traffic lights to painting roofs white to ensuring that residential air ducts don't leak heat. Meanwhile, California's 'decoupling' laws have given electric utilities incentives to push energy-saving measures (in most states, utilities only make a profit if they sell, sell, sell)." But as Bradford Plumer points out, the picture is really not so simple...