Choice, Change, Challenge, and Opportunity

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14
California Power Industry
CHAPTER
2
Objectives

• After studying this special feature on California
  power, you will be able to
• Describe the California power supply industry and
  its regulatory framework
• Describe the crisis of 2001 and explain the
  lessons learned
• Review the main debates and the pros and cons of
  the regulatory change of 1996

3
Background The industry up to 1999

• This link takes you to the Energy Information
  Administration where you will find a mass of data
  and information about the California electricity
  supply industry before the deregulation problems
  hit.

4
Californias Regulatory Framework

• The California electricity supply industry is
  regulated by the Electricity Oversight Board.
• Use this link to visit the EOB Web site where you
  will find a wealth of information about the
  industry, its challenges, and the way the EOB is
  seeking to address them.
• When you get to the EOB site, use the links on
  the side panel to learn about the Board and its
  history.

5
Facts, Causes, and Lessons

• The California electricity crisis, its causes,
  and the lessons learned from it remain
  controversial.
• Some links on the next slide will take you to the
  debates.
• But first, carefully review this comprehensive
  guide to the crisis by the Congressional Budget
  Office.

6
The Debates

• Many individuals and groups weighed in on the
  pros and cons of Californias regulatory changes.
  Some of the most coherent arguments can be found
  by using the following four links
• Reason Public Policy Institute
• Rocky Mountain Institute
• Open Secrets
• Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley

7
Electricity Restructuring in other States

• This link takes you to an Energy Information
  Administration resource where you can obtain a
  summary of the restructuring of the electricity
  industry across the United States.