Editorial: San Diegans Understand Need for Electricity Reform

Beginning today, The San Diego Union-Tribune Opinion page will present arguments by some proponents and opponents of the major initiatives on the Nov. 8 special election ballot.

The economic pain and personal traumas of the 2000-01 energy crisis will be long remembered in San Diego. San Diego was ground zero in the meltdown of the infamous California electric deregulation experiment. It changed people's lives and drove families and businesses out of our state.

The hardship that was the fallout of deregulation knew no boundaries. At the public hearing the California Public Utilities Commission held in August, 2000, San Diegans of all backgrounds and ages recounted their suffering:

Consumers, particularly those on fixed incomes, couldn't pay electric bills that kept going up by leaps and bounds, even as they turned off every light and cut back air conditioning to the bare minimum. A 65-year-old summed it up: "I thought I was working so that I could retire; now I'm working to pay the electric bill."

Families of military personnel were particularly hard hit, heightening the struggle they already face to make ends meet even as they dedicate their lives to serving the country. Health care providers, especially community hospitals, wondered how they were to come up with the funds for electricity bills that were $100,000 higher than expected in a single month! "We have a real crisis on our hands," was how an administrator from Paradise Valley Hospital put it.

Apartment owners who catered to tenants with low or fixed incomes described their choice -- raise rates to people who could least afford it, or close shop and leave their clients homeless.

Small businesses were left reeling, as owners, employees and customers all suffered severe hardship. Their electric bills skyrocketed just as their customers had less discretionary spending. A number of restaurants folded during the height of the tourist season. Large businesses fared little better. Local manufacturers saw bills jump as much as $165,000 in a single month, causing many to forfeit bonuses and profit-sharing plans just to stay in business.

Thus, it is only fitting that San Diegans should take the lead in bringing about the reforms needed to ensure that California energy policy is equitable and affordable by supporting Proposition 80.

Proposition 80's objective is to say "never again!" to reckless energy policies. It puts California firmly on course toward a more reliable, stable and consumer-friendly energy future, and it does so by forbidding any future experiments with unregulated electric prices.

Proposition 80 is an unusual initiative in that it has no hidden agenda or gotcha clauses buried in its fine print. It is written and supported by California's most respected and experienced consumer advocacy organizations, with no vested economic interest in its passage. It is as pure as a state initiative can be. Of course, deregulation did benefit a handful of unscrupulous energy companies that collected the obscene prices (and obscene profits) from San Diegans large and small. Not surprisingly, those companies are leading the opposition to Proposition 80. They will surely cast this pro-consumer, pro-fairness initiative in some false light and, because they have a lot of money, they will broadcast their distortions with abandon.

But don't be fooled. Proposition 80 stands for the notion that past mistakes should be avoided and lessons should be learned. Remarkably, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger continues to support the ill-conceived plan to deregulate this industry again, and that view is shared by many of the state's appointed energy officials. The potential for real energy reform from this administration is almost nil.

This administration's "energy policy"seeks to put the interests of energy companies ahead of the interests of Californians. The initiative process gives the state's citizens an opportunity to overcome such irrational behavior.

While prohibiting future deregulation may be the most important element of Proposition 80, it also provides the basic building blocks of a regulated, stabilized electricity system. It enhances service reliability by requiring all service providers to have sufficient resources and reserves to serve their customers. It firms up the state's commitment to develop renewable generation resources, accelerating the 20 percent target date from 2017 to 2010, and eliminating the existing provision that caps the use of such resources.

California simply can't afford to wait any longer to move its energy policy forward in a way that avoids the pitfalls of the past. UCAN, the Utility Consumers' Action Network, and TURN, The Utility Reform Network, urge voters to send a message to the governor rejecting his vision of more future deregulation. Proposition 80 gives voters the ability to send that message.

 Finkelstein is executive director of The Utility Reform Network. Shames is executive director of Utility Consumers' Action Network.