California: The state of denial

July 2, 2001
As California lurches toward third-world energy status, denial of responsibility is the order of the day from San Diego to Napa Valley (OGJ, June 25, 2001, p.17). c

As California lurches toward third-world energy status, denial of responsibility is the order of the day from San Diego to Napa Valley (OGJ, June 25, 2001, p.17).

Gov. Gray Davis blames Texas, while Utility Commissioner Loretta Lynch hints darkly of a "conspiracy," and Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer wants to put Enron Chairman Ken Lay in "an 8 by 10 cell he could share with a tattooed dude" named Spike.1

There's a shortage?

Given the rhetoric of their leaders, it is not surprising that the majority of Californians don't believe there is a problem. A statewide poll, taken by Los Angeles Times in late February, indicated that only one in three citizens believes there is an electricity shortage.

Such skepticism is reflected in behavior. During a power problem in Los Angeles in February, 38% of the businesses on interruptible rates refused to cooperate by reducing usage-even though they had been getting 15% rate reductions for years by promising they would voluntarily cut use in case there was a crisis.

In addition, throughout the Christmas holiday season last December, San Francisco was rife with tales of homeowners who refused to douse outdoor Christmas lighting displays-one house had 11,000 icicle lights.

Finally, in Silicon Valley, a region known for its voracious appetite for electricity, one dot-com company thought it was enough to ask employees to turn off their lava lamps "until the state's energy crisis is under control."

California's role

While transferring the blame for its energy dilemma to others may soothe the Golden State psyche, the rest of the nation should not be deluded into forgetting who the real culprits are in this energy drama-i.e., Californians themselves. Californians have painted themselves into a corner by refusing to:

  • Pay economically sound electric power rates.
  • Develop their own oil and gas reserves.
  • Expand and update their energy infrastructure.

Now the state wants the federal government and the rest of the states to bail them out. Gov. Davis has called on Washington to institute rate caps on electricity to protect California from the free market-a market the state eagerly sought when it deregulated utilities in 1996.

Key issues

Consider some facts on five key issues:

  • Energy use.

There is no evidence Californians squander energy more than other Americans [in fact, their per capita use is among the lowest], but the sheer population of the state takes a huge toll on our nation's resources.

Each year, Californians burn over 15 billion gal of gasoline (11% of the US total) and use 2 tcf of natural gas (10% of US total) and more than 800 trillion btu of electricity (9% of US total). Gasoline demand alone is expected to increase 40% in California by 2020, with parallel increases in natural gas usage.

Further, because California has to import over 20% of its electricity, neighboring states have been adversely impacted. The Bonneville Power Authority was forced to draw down its reservoirs in Washington and Oregon over the winter under a federal order to produce power for California. Arizona, Nevada, and Utah have all seen similar depletion of water supplies in an effort to meet California's never-ending thirst for electricity.

  • Energy facilities.

Despite using all this energy, California has simply refused to build additional energy units. Not one major power plant2 was built in California in the 1990s, although population and electricity use boomed.

Local opposition has stopped power development dead in its tracks. When Calpine Corp. proposed a clean natural gas turbine in power-starved Silicon Valley, the local planning staff concluded, "The proposed power plant was clearly not what was envisioned for this area." This scenario has been played out in planning offices and public meetings up and down the state.

Similarly, California has steadfastly refused to build all types of associated energy facilities. Virtually no major transmission line expansion has occurred in 8 years. What is even more alarming; California is far behind the curve in planning new transmission lines. The Western Systems Coordinating Council predicts California will add only 199 new miles of pipeline by 2008-fewer than any other western state.

Oil and gas pipelines are fought at every turn, and not a single refinery has been built in California in over 2 decades.3

  • Energy development.

Californians routinely oppose new natural gas and oil wells. Through their influence at the federal level, senators Diane Feinstein and Barbara Boxer have stultified virtually all new drilling proposals off the California coast, despite the rich deposits there and the vastly improved safety rec- ord of offshore technology.

Yet, Californians seem to have no qualms about getting their oil and natural gas from platforms off Texas and Louisiana-apparently under the notion that "all states are equal but California is more equal than others."

  • Artificially low rates.

Artificially low rates have been instituted by California officials seeking to curry favor with voters.

When California's deregulation law was passed in 1996, it mandated a 10% cut in rates as well as a freeze on future rates. While other states have felt the pinch of rising electricity prices, many Californians have been protected from the marketplace, enjoying fixed low rates that give consumers no incentive to conserve-so they don't.

  • Continued denial.

Despite these facts, many Californians simply refuse to look in the mirror.

John Balzar, an editorial writer for Los Angeles Times, recently argued that California should not be criticized because "other states did not build any power plants either."

Balzar is completely oblivious to the facts: since 1995, Texas added over 25 new power plants, Illinois is bringing at least 20 new plants on line, and Arizona, 11. Other states-including Florida, North Carolina, Iowa, and Wisconsin-have also been steadily strengthening their electric power systems.

Similarly, Rep. Anna Eschoo (D-Palo Alto) recently warned that if President George W. Bush's energy plan tries to open any part of offshore California to drilling, it would be like "targeting a missile at us." This is from a leader in a state with 17 million cars, 10 million trucks, and almost half a million motorcycles.

Finally, despite rolling blackouts and predictions that California faces even more serious electricity problems in the future, many Californians still don't get it. The statewide survey Los Angeles Times conducted in February also indicated that 60% of Golden State residents would fight any proposed nuclear units. This opposition exists despite the fact that, without its current nuclear plants, vast areas of California would have been without power in recent months.

Now, a Field Poll survey released in late May indicates that Californians blame everyone but themselves for continuing energy problems-Bush, Vice-Pres. Dick Cheney, other states. The group Californians say is doing the best job to improve the situation? You guessed it-Californians themselves.

This oblivious attitude of many Californians toward their massive use of the nation's energy resources makes citizens of other states want to shout-"Wake up! Be honest about your own role in creating this energy crisis. It's time to take a close look at the man in the mirror."

References

  1. Wall Street Journal, May 2001.
  2. The California Energy Commission reports that, in the early 1990s, it certified 11 small power plants, 3 of which were not built. Eight plants-none larger than 240 Mw-are now generating 996 Mw of electricity. Another 4 1/2 plants (totaling 2,353 Mw) are scheduled to start up by the end of this year.
  3. No grassroots refinery has been built anywhere in the US in over 2 decades. The last was built in Louisiana in the 1970s.

Frank Clemente

Click here to enlarge image

...Senators...Feinstein and...Boxer have stultified virtually all new drilling proposals off the California coast.ellipseYet, Californians seem to have no qualms about getting their oil and natural gas from platforms off Texas and Louisiana-apparently under the notion that 'all states are equal, but California is more equal than others.'

The author

Frank Clemente is a professor of sociology at Penn State University, where he is a senior member of the graduate faculty and where he has served as director of the university's Environmental Policy Center. His research on energy policy spans 25 years. He has a PhD in sociology and demography from the University of Tennessee.