Out there in the middle of the nation's electrical grid lies an almost completely independent island known as Texas. While electricity is traded between the states almost everywhere else in the continental United States, Texas stands alone.
Power generated in Texas stays in Texas.
That's just one of the reasons the state has avoided the power shortages that have plagued California in the wake of its poorly executed moves toward power deregulation, problems that are feared in other areas of the country as well. While California can't seem to find enough power to go around, Texans are enjoying a healthy surplus that's only getting bigger. The state has already added 8,000 megawatts of generating capacity since 1999, with another 6,000 megawatts expected by the end of next year. A friendly business climate and a less active environmental lobby in Texas helped ensure the building of the generators, says Paul Scott, a management consultant who specializes in energy companies for RHR International in Dallas. But the main factor that has allowed utility deregulation to proceed smoothly in Texas is that the state didn't put a cap on the prices that the generators could charge.