According to Henwood Energy Services Inc., of Sacramento, Calif., close to 100,000 megawatts of generating capacity are under construction and another 300,000 are in planning stages. Some plants won't be built. That would be much more than is needed.
Experts say the real problems lie in consumption and transmission considerations.
Most consumers don't know it, but the overnight price for electricity at wholesale can be practically zero. Also, prices for the transmission of electricity over long distances do not rise and fall based on demand. When everyone wants to use the same power lines to get electricity from some low-cost generating plant, congestion results. Higher prices for congestion are encouraging entrepreneurs to build plants close to cities so as to take advantage of those higher prices. And experts say that is helping.