This is the result of politicians in Sacramento meddling rather than letting the market work. If consumers were being billed at market rates last year then they would have reduced electrical use, blackouts would have been less of a problem, prices would not have peaked as high as they did and the debts incurred by the utilities, if any, would be smaller and would be their responsibility.
To me (and I am a consumer of power in CA) it seems only just that we now pay at a higher rate because we incurred that debt. It is leftist hypocrisy to say that we should have the benefits but not the consequences.
And the consumer wasn't forced to pay that rate?
You're saying they should have had the vision and foresight to pony up more than they were being billed to avoid the power companies' debt load now?
Which Utility do you work for? Enron?