Until 1982, rates for all Californians were about the same. The following year, Republican George Deukmejian replaced Democrat Jerry Brown as governor and slowly began to replace liberal utilities commission members with his own conservative appointees. That gave businesses their best chance in decades to redirect policy. Just as they are doing now, big businesses warned during the economic downturns in the 1980s and early 1990s that they would be forced to lay off thousands of workers or even flee California if they didn't get a break. Companies urged state regulators to throw out their system based on energy use and replace it with one founded on projected use.
Big businesses offer no apologies for the discrepancies.
But the utilities commission wants to raise rates, in part, to compel consumers, including businesses, to cut back on their energy use. Some major industrial power users equipped with special meters could see their rates nearly triple during periods of peak demand. Still, companies contend that their bottom line already encourages them to cut energy use, and that homeowners don't have the same incentives. Early on in the energy crisis, business leaders such as Carl Guardino, president of the Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group, said companies were willing to pay more to avert blackouts. And the business community recently offered to accept a 30 percent rate hike.