State officials had anticipated a crunch in June, when air conditioners are cranked up for summer weather. Right now, there's almost a disbelieving frustration that is going to elevate quickly to downright irritable if we go through a summer of this. Hot weather, a high number of power plants down for maintenance and little power available from other states led to rolling blackouts this week that affected hundreds of thousands of customers.
Experts expect a long, hot summer of similar drills - calls for conservation, followed by blackouts.
California has had six days of rolling blackouts so far this year, and state regulators are forecasting at least 30 more this summer. For consumers, the early start of the season has created a mixture of resignation and exasperation. I hate to say this, but it's getting to be a way of life in California. It has been a year since consumers in San Diego got the first dose of shortages and higher costs. Since then, Gov. Gray Davis and other leaders have tried to deal with the crisis with mixed results.