Build more power plants they say.
More plants equal more electricity equals no crisis.
Simple, but wrong, in more ways than there is space here to correct. There is no single explanation for California s ongoing energy crisis. But a simple fact is that since the state deregulated its investor-owned electric plants in 1996, California electric companies have abandoned what had been a model approach to energy efficiency and conservation. Rather than reducing demand when it is cheaper than increasing supply, the deregulated power producers have targeted rising demand as the key to raising profits. And not surprisingly, demand for electricity in California skyrocketed after the focus shifted under deregulation.