California's Four-Year Drought Cost $2 Billion on Power Bills
- Drought cut power supply from hydro stations, researcher says
- Increased use in gas pushed up carbon emissions by 10%
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The unprecedented drought in California cost consumers an extra $2 billion in power bills because it dried up hundreds of hydroelectric stations in the U.S. state, curbing a key source of renewable energy, a new report found.
The drought has also undermined efforts to tackle climate change since it started in 2011, because the extra gas power replacing hydro increased emissions, the research group Pacific Institute in said the study.