Responding to complaints following the earlier outages, state power officials this month plan to begin issuing weather advisory-style warnings 24 hours before an expected blackout. Chicago, faced with a deteriorated electrical system after years of neglect and severe weather, adopted a blackout plan in 1999 that is being studied as a model by California officials. The stakes are high in California. It has the world's sixth largest economy and is home to bellwether high tech companies such as Intel and Cisco Systems. For some retailers, the impact is minimal.
Some companies can fire portable generators to power their phone system with minimal disruption.
A summer of rolling blackouts also will test the emotional mettle of Californians, who normally rally when faced with such natural disasters as earthquakes and wildfires. This is different in the sense it is not a natural calamity and you can blame politicians and gougers for it. California's plight already has become comic fodder. From David Letterman to radio talk shows, the state has been the butt of power-related jokes. Jan Vazquez, however, suggests that California has the chance to go from punch line to role model.