Tom Steyer in Fresno: Housing, Energy, and Affordability

In this episode of Fresnolandia, hosts Danielle Bergstrom and Jordan Mattox sit down with investor, philanthropist, environmental advocate, and California gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer for a conversation about what the state’s biggest policy challenges mean specifically for Fresno and the Central Valley.

Steyer shares his perspective on the growing “abundance” discourse and why California must refocus on actually building things in the physical world—from housing and infrastructure to clean energy systems. He argues that the state’s housing crisis is fundamentally a supply problem, driven by high construction costs, slow permitting, zoning constraints, and outdated building technologies, and outlines how new construction methods and regulatory reforms could help make housing more affordable for working families in places like Fresno.

The conversation then turns to one of the most pressing issues for Central Valley residents: electricity costs. Steyer critiques PG&E as a monopoly with misaligned incentives and points out that Fresno residents are paying some of the highest electricity rates in the country—more than double the national average. He makes the case for reforming the Public Utilities Commission, introducing competition through local energy generation and microgrids, and leveraging the rapid advances in solar and battery technology to dramatically lower energy bills.

Throughout the episode, Steyer emphasizes that these problems are structural, not technical—and that solving them will require political courage to challenge entrenched interests, rethink regulatory systems, and prioritize affordability for everyday Californians. For Fresno, he argues, the combination of abundant sun, emerging battery technology, and local energy production represents a major opportunity to lead the next phase of California’s clean energy transition.