The recovering lawyers thread.
Critics say they're trying to turn out the lights on democracy.
But before its turbines ever start generating electricity for power-famished Californians, it must first win approval from the California Energy Commission. And that is no simple task, as a quick glance at the Metcalf Energy Center's CEC docket indicates. Calpine and other power wholesalers think so. California, argue the wholesalers, should be more like Texas, where the average approval time for power plants is a nimble eight to nine months. Two new power plants will come online in California this summer, says Calpine spokesman Bill Highlander.