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Will the Lights Go Out In California?
In today's society, our state and national government doesn't hold much trust from its citizens. From the terrorist attacks on September 11th, we have been fed shoddy information about prior knowledge, instigations, and about warnings that our government ignored. Now, California is faced with an alarming tragedy caused by its government and political officials. California's governor, Gray Davis, declared a "stage 3" state of emergency amid an energy crisis termed as being one of "third-world dimensions. (Economist, 2005)
This isn't the first energy crisis in our country. Several other states have been on the brink of disaster, but have managed to pull themselves out with minor injuries. How is the problem in California different than in other states? The deregulation of the state's utilities is the answer.
Upon signing the deregulation policies, California allowed for wholesale electricity and put a freeze on retail rates. (The Economist, 2001) In an article titled, "A state of gloom", a publication called "The Economist" states that this "Catastrophe has been looming for some time now.
The residents of California have been experiencing "brown outs" since being declared a state of emergency in January. Not only is this a nuisance to the residents, it can prove to be quite costly as well. Each time the power is shut off and turned back on, it causes a surge. These surges have been known for "frying" appliances, computers, as well as starting fires.
Because of the way the deregulation policies were written, California was unable to raise rates to its electrical consumers. The residents of California were not conserving energy because it was not ...