It leads to financial ruin. We cannot rely on private companies building new generation plants because the same price gougers will control how the new electricity gets priced. We cannot rely on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission or President Bush. California can only rely on California to solve this problem. The governor should now recognize California's vital interest in protecting itself from these prices.
Eminent domain is a reasonable tool to use to achieve that goal.
It has been used in less compelling circumstances. For example, eminent domain was used in the early 1980s for George W. Bush's investment team to assemble the land on which the Texas Rangers' stadium is built, from which he and his partners profited handsomely. If eminent domain can be used for private profit, it can be used to protect the vital interests of the state of California. The plants should be divested to private ownership, but only to companies that are under PUC jurisdiction. The PUC also should be used to plan how California can move forward to an improved cost-based system of regulation.