That's why we're backing a Senate bill that would create a state public power agency to fix this mess. For decades, electricity prices have only gone one direction - up. And public power systems' prices are dropping too, where they face competition. It's a nice fantasy that a state-run electricity system will be responsive to the public interest, but history and common sense indicate that it will actually be most responsive to political interests. Meanwhile, states that truly deregulate will see falling electricity prices and happier customers, while California looks on from the sidelines.
Public power is no fantasy.
Publicly owned utilities serve nearly 40 million Americans. There are no profits, dividends or multimillion-dollar CEO salaries to add to the price of electricity. Government officials, accountable to voters rather than to shareholders, control utility rates. That's why residential customers of private companies pay 31 percent more on average than public power customers. Public power companies have no financial incentives to manufacture shortages, so they make sure there is always an adequate, reliable supply of electricity.