California was the first to open its electricity markets to competition (1998) and is often viewed as a prototype for deregulation that is unfolding on a state-by-state basis across the United States. In this book, energy columnist and think-tank analyst Will McNamara takes readers into the heart of the California energy crisis and recounts the facts surrounding California’s deregulation. He details who its main players were, the root causes of its failure, the attempts at resolution, “re-regulation,” and the price-cap debate. Further, he clarifies the common misinformation surrounding the California energy crisis, and draws solutions to the inherent problems of the California model as other states deregulate their electricity markets.

Key Features & Benefits

• provides a thorough analysis of the inherent market flaws that existed in the California model for electric deregulation
• offers insights from a nationally recognized energy industry analyst who has tracked the California energy markets throughout the 1990s
• puts key developments of California’s deregulation into valuable context

• Introduction
• Historical Perspective
• The Root Causes of the California Energy Crisis
• Impacts: How the Crisis Manifested
• The Financial Instability of Pacific Gas & Electric Co. and Southern California Edison
• Resolution Attempts
• The Re-Regulation of California’s Energy Market
• The Great Debate over Price Caps
• Comparison of California to Other States
• Summer 2001: The Energy Crisis Fizzles Out
• Present Status: Where Will California Energy Markets Go From Here?
• Conclusion
• Index