Even now, the agency is drawing criticism for not building enough plants in recent years and for scrambling to prevent blackouts this summer by setting up emergency plants in places being challenged by environmental groups. Ashok Gupta, senior energy economist with the Natural Resources Defense Council in New York, said the state public power programs did a good job for years in backing conservation. But he said the board appointed by the governor isn't acting in the public interest. Consumer activists have sued the state agency and accused it of ignoring environmental and health concerns to set up emergency power plants to get through the summer. In 1983, the state public power authority was forced into what was then the largest bond default in the nation's history in a failed bid to build two nuclear plants.
Supporters say they understand the dangers.
Whether it is a public authority or a private business, anything run by human beings runs the risk of failing. But Angelides and others contend that the benefits far outweigh the risks. Some point to Los Angeles, where the head of the local power authority, S. David Freeman, has emerged as a kind of folk hero in the energy crisis. In 1997, Freeman stepped in to head a beleaguered and nearly bankrupt Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. He slashed jobs, cut debt and is credited with keeping cheap electricity flowing to the city's 3 million residents.