The costs of the latter were paid for with cross-subsidies from other ratepayers. The California mantra has been to force, nudge and browbeat people into using less energy, not finding ways to produce more. The bureaucrats and politicians didn't plan on the surging growth of the Internet economy, which put new and unanticipated demands on the power grid. In tax policy, Bush clearly understands the primacy of the supply side and giving people incentives to work, save and produce more. Let the market provide incentives to produce more, transmit power more efficiently and keep costs reasonable while protecting the environment.
Prudent regulation can protect the environment without damaging the free economy.
True renewables like nuclear power produce energy more safely and efficiently than ever. That leads, as California is learning to its regret, to rolling blackouts as a way of life. Along with the resurgence of OPEC and the growing strain on natural gas supplies, the coast's power crunch shows how far energy policy has gotten off track. If we really want Kyoto-style energy restrictions in the United States, California is a perfect example of what we are in for. That should trump any propaganda that tries to use California to stop true deregulation, which will be an essential element of modern energy policy.