This weekend, temperatures are expected to hit as high as 110 degrees in California’s Central Valley, and in the 90s to low 100s across the interior Bay Area.
The world is on course for what could be the hottest year on record due to human-caused climate change and a strenthening El Niño, scientists say — and despite the Bay Area’s relatively moderate climate, summer temperature extremes can have a sudden, outsized impact on household budgets.
California has the second-highest electricity costs of any state in the U.S. Mark Toney, the executive director of nonprofit consumer advocacy group The Utility Reform Network, said high rates and fluctuating weather patterns can make monthly bills unpredictable…