Everybody starts pointing the finger when things like this happen. They always overlook one simple fact: the price of a commodity is determined by market forces in a free market.
What CA has is not a free market. Producers are allowed to produce as much as they want. The catch is that they have to use solar, wind, or natural gas, and even natural gas is considered bad in a state as liberal as CA, so it still faces obstacles. In addition, the "suppliers" can only charge what the government mandates for electricity - an artificial ceiling.
In other words, the producers face huge problems in putting in new production, the suppliers have to sell it at artificially low rates, and the power companies have to reduce the suppliers to junk bond status because the risk is too high.
CA could have avoided this with a couple measures: 1) Guess what! You need power plants! You need to get rid of the "not in my back yard" syndrome and settle on reasonable pollution requirements so that you can get it done. The alternative is to build solar or wind plants.
2) Free the market. Start by allowing the suppliers to pass on prices to the consumers at a maximum profit per Kwh. If people in CA really want solar and wind generated power, that is their right. Since those technologies ARE more expensive, they will have to pay for them. Later, when things settle in, go to a full free market situation.
In the end, we are a government BY THE PEOPLE. the people of CA need to realize that it is their choices that have caused this problem, both through pollution controls and through electing politicians who do only what is politically correct instead of what is right.
Just my humble opinion....
Created on Tuesday, April 03, 2001 2:42 PM EDT by Clay G Codner