In my business, we manage the price risk. Consumers tell us what they want, we make the offer and consumers make the choice. When California said everything was a variable rate, we said, you got it. We in the energy brokering and marketing business are eager to provide energy at competitive prices. We compete fiercely among ourselves to gain market share, win new business and earn profits.
Markets harbor no fools, because the punishment is exacting and unusually swift.
That was the problem in 1995 when the PUC and the state initiated the restructuring policy. Let's stop calling each other names and start working together to figure how to avoid rolling blackouts and keep the existing system solvent. It serves no purpose for power generators to go broke or to file claims against utilities, forcing them into bankruptcy. Despite all the financial pain that we are undergoing, the problem is fixable. It's time for consumers and merchants to meet each other with a more informed understanding of what each party does and what the other wants.