We here at Energy Circuit are independent journalists with decades of experience. We covered the Golden State's power industry throughout deregulation and followed its rise from the 2000-01 energy crisis ashes. As the state transforms itself into a green economy by embracing renewable power, energy efficiency and carbon light technologies, Circuit helps guide readers through the maze of regulation aimed at decreasing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing the amount of wind, solar and other alternative energy production in the state.
Our award-winning staff keep their ears to the ground on emerging policy, get the skinny behind new laws, and tune in to the twists and turns of regulatory developments.
For the price of a subscription, you can virtually attend meetings and hearings, whether at the state Capitol, California Public Utilities Commission, the California Energy Commission, or Air Resources Board. We also cover news outside the state that affects California's energy industry, be it coal development, federal policies, or renewable subsidies. And we translate it all into plain English.
JUICE, Circuit's editorial column, brings you insights into developing news. Our guest columns provide contrasting perspectives on important current energy events. Our gossip columnist, Dr. Snarky Sparks—and her office mate, Dr. Shrinky—provide humorous, biting, insider revelations.
Circuit’s Service
Circuit’s readers are in many facets of the energy industry: power developers, deliverers, politicians, regulators, lawyers, governments, and utilities. Circuit is in the energy journalism, business—a distinction that we sometimes feel the need to make, and let our sophisticated readers in on why Circuit serves them and how we go about it.
First, it’s the California in Circuit’s name that is our raison d’etre.
The Golden State is different. It is what makes us ever so interesting, envied and mocked.
California is a land of determined vision—with the entertainment industry, Silicon Valley, the Napa Valley. For many insiders, it’s risk-for-profit, it’s still environmentally charming, it’s a social experiment and often fun.
We at Circuit report and investigate the state’s unique energy world—viewing it through a journalistic lens shaped by the past and present contours and landscapes—be it electricity restructuring or rise of carbon constraints, renewables and energy efficiency. For us, the power industry is one big noisy family, with constant and shifting rivalries and alliances.
We have no stake financially in the success or failure of the fossil-fueled, renewable-fueled, transmission, or pipeline industries. As old-school journalists, we simply believe that given solid information, people will make the right choices.
Our old-school journalism reflects diligent research and decades of energy analyses. We present as many responsible views, and a positively skeptical examination of policy and practice.
With that, here’s a primer on energy journalism to help readers understand what we do, and why it is a help to you:
News events—Like most serious publications, we cover news events. For instance if a transmission line is christened, or burned up, Circuit will report it with more sophistication than daily newspapers. If a nuclear plant melts, we’ll report that too, only from a distance.
Enterprise reporting—In non-news events, Circuit’s staff sees trends. We investigate and pull together strands of occurrences into a rope of information.
Hearings & meetings—For readers’ basic need to be in several places at once, for hearings and meetings, Circuit’s staff is deployed to make your life easier. We give you the basics, and figure for details readers can follow up on the archived webcasts.
Analysis—Circuit’s staff, with decades of experience in energy, gives out facts, but also ties together analysis. We also invite readers to offer their own views through guest editorials, in order to gather more points of view.
Press releases v. reporting—Many of our readers publish press releases on their companies or agencies. The releases tip us to things we wouldn’t otherwise catch. But, Circuit digs beyond the press release to get a fuller picture.
Filters—To help readers with their own time constraints, Circuit attempts to filter events, both around the nation and world, into news that can be used here in California.
Tone—We don’t want to put our readers to sleep with dry prose, and we don’t want to be glib, either. Circuit attempts to create a readable publication every week that delivers accurate information in a digestible format.
In essence, Circuit is much like a mirror—a mirror that reveals both your beauty and blemishes at the same time. It’s an interesting dynamic and that is ever-changing. We look forward to traveling and reflecting industry, environmental and consumers.
California Energy Circuit Staff
J.A. Savage, co-editor, co-publisher, is an award-winning journalist with honors from the National Press Club,
the Society of Professional Journalists, the Computer Press Association, and the Electronic Publishers Foundation.
She's an investigative reporter. She authored two books on energy
deregulation and one on Pacific Gas & Electric's bankruptcy. She covered energy as a columnist for
the former San Francisco Examiner. She's also been a correspondent for the
San Francisco Chronicle, the Los Angeles Times, and Dow Jones.
Elizabeth McCarthy, co-editor, co-publisher has specialized in energy issues since the late 1990s. She was a staff
reporter for the Bureau of National Affairs in Sacramento and was BNA's Irish correspondent, covering myriad issues—from wave action
to European Union directives. She has written extensively on water, heath care, and business for various organizations and publications,
including the World Health Organization, Agence France Presse wire service, and Harvard University's Nieman Reports. McCarthy is an attorney
and switched to journalism after discovering that reporting on energy issues was more dynamic and enjoyable than briefing them. She focuses
on making her coverage of complex policy and legal issues digestible, accurate, and entertaining.
William J. Kelly is Circuit's staff correspondent. He has written on environmental and energy issues for more than 20 years
and was the winner of the Rose Foundation's 2006 Meade Clean Air Prize for his articles on air pollution in LA Weekly in 2006.
Kelly is author, with Chip Jacobs, of the forthcoming book "Smogtown," from Overlook Press in New York. His freelance articles have been
published in the Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, California Journal, LA Weekly, Orange County Weekly,
Scientific American, Alternet, and for Environment News Service.
Earlier in his career, Kelly covered national environmental issues in Washington, D.C., for the employee-owned publishing company BNA, Inc.
He also has written and edited books on the environment, including "Home Safe Home" (National Press, Inc., 1989; republished by Avon Books, 1991)
and several volumes published by BNA. After leaving Washington, he spent more than 13 years as press spokesperson and communications
manager for the South Coast Air Quality Management District, the smog control agency for greater Los Angeles. There he won the International
Association of Business Communicators awards for best media communications program in 1997 and best annual report in 1995. He holds a
master's degree in journalism from Columbia University.
Mark Edward Nero is Energy Circuit's South Coast correspondent. Nero, based in Long Beach, Calif., has been writing for
Circuit since 2005 and has been a professional journalist since 1995. He has worked for a series of Southern California daily newspapers,
including the San Diego Union-Tribune and Long Beach Press-Telegram. His writing also has appeared in the Boston Globe,
the Los Angeles Daily News, and other publications both in the U.S. and abroad. In addition to reporting for Circuit, Nero writes
about the music industry and the maritime shipping industry.
Elisa Walton reports on international climate issues from a European Union base.
She is completing her master’s degree at the London School of Economics.
She’s written for the U.S. Department of State and published in the Berkeley Political Review.
Christine Keyser is an environmental and energy reporter who has written for such diverse publications as the Asian Wall Street Journal,
Boston Globe, Christian Science Monitor, and Sierra Magazine. She covered deregulation of California's electric power
industry and the state's ensuing energy crisis for McGraw Hill/Platts energy publications. She has been a reporter for AP-Dow Jones in Tokyo,
the Bureau of National Affairs, San Francisco Examiner, and UPI. She has master's degrees in environmental law from Vermont Law
School and journalism from the University of California at Berkeley. She aspires to live off the grid on a sustainable farm powered by
renewable energy generated without harm to wildlife or the environment.
Chris Carlsson, graphics whiz for Circuit, is also executive director of the multimedia history project
Shaping San Francisco. He was one of the founders, editors and frequent contributors to the
ground-breaking San Francisco magazine Processed World. He has edited four books,
"Bad Attitude: The Processed World Anthology" (Verso: 1990),
"Reclaiming San Francisco: History, Politics, Culture" (City Lights: 1998, co-edited with James Brook and Nancy J. Peters),
"Critical Mass: Bicycling's Defiant Celebration" (AK Press: 2002),
"The Political Edge" (City Lights Foundation: 2004).
He published his first novel, "After The Deluge," in 2004, a story of post-economic San Francisco in the year 2157.
His latest work, "Nowtopia" was out May 2008.
Carlsson makes his living as a book designer, editor, and typesetter.
Dave Ratz aka "Ratz" is our Webmaster living in the "Last Best Place" (Montana), which gives him a unique perspective on life as we know it.