Free Republic

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Although it was reworked by a Senate committee Tuesday, a bill to restructure California's electricity market survived opposition from business groups that want a return to deregulation and consumer groups who fear ratepayers will be stuck with the tab. Both sides packed a Senate Energy Committee hearing and spilled out into the hall in a scene reminiscent of the last time the Legislature took a whack at energy policy during the electricity crisis of 2001. At issue was Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez's bill to let the state's largest electricity users shop around for power - reviving a...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - A bill that would loosen government regulation of the power market while encouraging utilities to build new power plants in California was approved Monday by a key Assembly committee. The bill from Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, D-Los Angeles, has the backing of a number of major utilities including Southern California Edison. Supporters say the proposal is not a return to full deregulation that some say led to the energy crisis of four years ago. The bill does not impose new regulations. Instead, the bill is a "balanced framework," according to Nunez. Opponents, which include some independent power...