JULY'S HEAT WAVE broke many highs, and it confirmed another dubious California record: Its residents endure more hours of blackouts than people in any other state.
When blackouts hit, utility executives invariably say there aren't enough power plants. Yet the California Independent System Operator, which manages much of the state's power grid, says there is ample capacity to generate electricity. So why all the blackouts?
The state's electricity transmission and distribution system is antiquated and dilapidated. A recent Department of Energy study cited Southern California as one of two U.S. regions (New York is the other) facing critical shortages of power lines. Grid under-capacity in the Bay Area is severe. A member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission called the transmission bottleneck between Northern and Southern California "the worst electric supply situation in the entire country."
Why is our power grid in such dreadful condition? Chronic neglect by the state's three investor-owned utilities -- Southern California Edison, San Diego Gas & Electric and Pacific Gas & Electric.
Even with a changing regulatory environment, the utilities retain control over the transmission and distribution of electricity -- and the responsibility to plan for and build new power lines. But they have failed to modernize the grid. In short, the utilities have violated the public's trust.
Utility spending to upgrade and maintain the system has steadily declined since the 1970s. The effects go far beyond July's outages. In February, Cal-ISO contended that a new high-voltage transmission line from gas-turbine generators in the Palo Verde area west of Phoenix would deliver enough electricity to enhance reliability, lower bills and encourage the development of renewable energy. Tellingly, this project, approved in the 1980s, has languished in the planning stages for 20 years.
Conspiracy theorists see sinister forces at work. SoCal Edison, SDG&E and PG&E, they say, have subtly and consistently opposed measures to spur renewable-energy development and to open power markets to competition. Too few transmission lines to generators outside the state limits access to renewable power and restricts the free flow of electricity throughout California, thus protecting the investor-owned utilities from outside competition.
