Energy policy is hot.
Spurred by sharply rising prices and California's electricity fiasco, states from coast to coast are dusting off decade-old energy plans and revisiting the policies that sprang from past crises. At least five governors have created task forces to recommend responses to the current crisis while energy legislation of all sorts is pending in nearly every state capital in the nation. In the Northeast, where officials fear a hot summer could bring electricity shortages and soaring prices, the New England Governors' Conference has, after four years of dormancy, revived its power-planning arm to coordinate energy policy among the six states. And at ground zero, California, lawmakers have filed more than 30 energy-related bills. Today's situation might well be far less dire had states stuck with programs adopted in the wake of the earlier energy crises, particularly in energy efficiency.