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Turns out, the existing way of billing for electric delivery is quite regressive — taking a proportionally greater amount from those with lower incomes than those with substantially higher income.

According to the National Institute of Health, people of color are more likely to live in older, energy inefficient homes with structural deficiencies, outdated appliances and cooling and heating systems. All that uses more electricity per square foot than those in affluent communities with access to modern, highly energy efficient technologies.

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In a Twitter video, West said he will run as a member of The People’s Party. He criticized both major political parties and their standard bearers, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. Both Biden and Trump are running again in 2024.

“In these bleak times, I have decided to run for truth and justice, which takes the form of running for president of the United States as a candidate for the People’s Party,” West said. “I enter in the quest for truth. I enter in the quest for justice, and the presidency is just one vehicle to pursue that truth and justice, what I’ve been trying to do all of my life.”

Additionally, Brown and Black communities are disproportionately inland where it’s hotter and away from the cool breeze of the Pacific — that too results in disproportionally higher electricity bills for people of color.

Access to affordable electricity is fundamental to social equity and climate justice. The rate reform measure, currently under review by the CPUC, is an express lane to correct energy disparities and promote home energy upgrades to help those who could use it the most. The state should be applauded for its progressive posture.

I urge you to join the Predictable Power Coalition to express support for income-based rate reform. Learn more at predictablepower.org.

Reverend Dr. Gerald Johnson, Superintendent and Pastor of Greater Harvest Church. He is also Chairman of the Board of the United African American Ministerial Action Council, covering Los Angeles and San Diego counties. Reverend Dr. Johnson served 22 years in the United States Marine, Marine Security, Logistics, Training.

West is a well known Black scholar and author and a former professor at Harvard and Princeton universities. He criticized former President Barack Obama as a “war criminal,” and supported Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a democratic socialist, in his presidential bids in 2016 and 2020.

On his campaign website, West says he wants to end wars, disband NATO, forgive all student debt, expand Social Security and invest in clean energy.

Third-party candidates face serious hurdles, including getting their names on ballots in each state.

In addition to Biden and Trump, several other candidates are making 2024 presidential bids. On Monday, former Vice President Mike Pence launched his campaign, joining a GOP primary field that already includes Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson.