Political wrangling prevented California's incentive plan from being ratified by the deadline, prompting Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez to instead shore up support ahead of next year's budget negotiations. Nunez, who authored AB 777, drafted a letter promising that he and other legislative leaders remain "committed to including industry tax incentives in the budget we pass next year." The letter, addressed to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, was signed by Nunez, D-Los Angeles, Republican Assembly leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, Senate President Don Perata, D-Oakland, and Senate Republican Leader Dick Ackerman, R-Irvine. "As you know, the motion picture and television production industry is a major contributor to our economy," Nunez wrote. "However, other states and nations are offering significant tax incentives to lure this important homespun industry away from California. That is why the tax incentives are essential to keeping motion picture and television production within California."
What was once a simple, unidirectional flow of electricity from centralized power plants to passive consumers is evolving into a complex, intelligent network where millions of distributed resources actively participate in grid operations. This transformation, powered by smart grid technologies, represents one of the most significant infrastructure shifts of our time. It promises to reshape how we generate, distribute, and consume energy. At its core, the smart grid represents far more than mere digitization of existing infrastructure. This bi-directional capability is fundamental to understanding why smart grids are becoming the backbone of modern energy systems, facilitating everything from real-time demand response to the integration of renewable energy sources. Smart Grid Market Development By 2030, smart grid technologies are projected to cover nearly half of the global electrical grid, up dramatically from just 24 percent in 2025. This expansion is underpinned by explosive gr...