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Californians Don't See Power Problem

Sunday, January 07, 2001

LOS ANGELES (AP) - As state officials weigh drastic proposals to deal with what they see as a deepening electricity crisis, a majority of Californians say there is no power problem.

According to a Los Angeles Times Poll published Sunday, 54 percent did not believe there was an actual shortage of electricity in California, while 36 percent said there is a shortage. Officials are considering alternatives ranging from a public takeover of the entire power network to a crash construction program for new power plants. The state's two largest utilities are already $9 billion in debt and are losing an estimated $40 million each day because wholesale prices are soaring while a state-imposed rate freeze prevents them from passing the costs on to customers.

Customers of municipally owned utilities in Los Angeles, Pasadena, Riverside, Sacramento and other cities have not been affected by the 1996 deregulation or soaring electricity prices. The Times Poll interviewed 575 Californians on Thursday and Friday, with a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. It found 66 percent view deregulation as a mistake, a sharp rise from 47 percent in an October poll. ``How can we go so many years with no problems at all, then suddenly we run into an energy crisis?'' asked Carl Fisher, 79, a retired postal worker.

``We just ended up with a raw deal,'' said respondent Stephanie Farley, 42, of National City, outside San Diego. Farley's recent monthly gas and electric bill was $604 for a three-bedroom home, and she has paid up to $800. Her utility company, San Diego Gas & Electric, is no longer subject to the rate freeze and last summer increased its rates as its wholesale costs rose. Asked about Gov. Gray Davis' handling of the electricity crisis, Californians said they disapprove, by 39 percent to 29 percent. Only 33 percent said the governor has shown decisive leadership on the issue, while 41 percent said he has been indecisive.

Davis is expected to discuss his proposals in his State of the State speech Monday, but administration officials say he will likely focus on conservation and financial incentives for power plant builders rather than price controls, re-regulation or public ownership of the grid.

State legislators have proposed spending $5 billion of the state's surplus on rebates to consumers, spending $3 billion to buy hydroelectric power plants and operating them under contract with the utilities, and creating a state agency to build and run power plants.

http://news.lycos.com/headlines/TopNews/article.asp?docid=APV0323&date=20010107

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), January 07, 2001