I found this to be just so stupid, mostly because I had talked to a friend that used to live in San Fran and she was telling me that the basis of the CA dereg was to have the feds regulate or cap the generating prices. I guess she must have been right, this was part of their plan all along. Bush won't play their game so they are going to try and make him.

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010529/ts/bush_energy_dc_3.html

Davis Says Will File Lawsuit Over Price Caps LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - California Gov. Gray Davis (news - web sites) told President Bush (news - web sites) on Tuesday he planned to file a lawsuit in an attempt to force the federal government to impose price controls on wholesale electricity in California.

``I'm going to pursue every recourse available to me. We will file a lawsuit against the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (news - web sites) for failing to discharge its legal obligations,'' Davis said.

Bush and Davis met for 40 minutes -- twice as long as scheduled -- to discuss California's energy crisis of rolling blackouts and high electricity prices.

Davis said afterward that ``we are going to file a lawsuit'' on the idea that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is required to assure ``just and reasonable'' rate prices.

White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card said it was a ``very friendly'' meeting overall and there was a ``cordial discussion of price caps'', with Bush refusing them and Davis insisting they were necessary.

-- Anonymous, May 29, 2001

Answers

Did the Kali government goofs miss the first "energy crisis" ?

Price caps lead to shortages, period, end of sentance.

The market place will (if left alone) allocate scarce resources (volts and watts in Kali) . The way it works is when one company starts receiving what is considered a healthy profit, other companies throw their hat in the ring, and the price decreases due to competition.

It really does work. But these greenies have to understand if they don't want those nasty power plants in their back yard, they will have to pay the price. With not enough local generating capacity, they will have to either pay the going rate, or do without. Not unlike me at the gas pump this afternoon.

-- Anonymous, May 29, 2001

Looks like Cali may have lost this round - so far....

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20010530/us/power_woes_ferc_4.html

Court Declines Energy Price Cap By DAVID KRAVETS, Associated Press Writer

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Gov. Gray Davis (news - web sites) threatened to sue the federal government for help in his state's power crisis after an appeals court declined to order energy regulators to cap wholesale electricity prices.

A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (news - web sites) issued a statement Tuesday saying last week's appeal by state Senate President John Burton and Assembly Speaker Robert Hertzberg did not warrant the court's intervention.

The lawmakers, both Democrats, were joined by the city of Oakland in their appeal to the 9th Circuit, which has jurisdiction over the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (news - web sites).

``The citizens of California are suffering immediate irreparable harm as a result of FERC's abrogation of its duty to establish just and reasonable rates for electricity,'' they wrote.

Wholesale power prices have shot up over the past year. In December, prices in California reached $200 per megawatt hour. Since then, they have risen to as much as $1,900 per megawatt hour.

The court's decision was announced hours before Davis was to urge President Bush (news - web sites) to cap wholesale power costs. Bush, as expected, rejected Davis' plea.

Davis said he would sue FERC for price relief if necessary, noting that the agency has already found that energy costs are unreasonable.

In April, FERC ordered a one-year cap on electricity sold into California during power emergencies, when power reserves fall below 7 1/2 percent. The agency did not set a price and also required the state to join a regional transmission organization, which could limit California's ability to control its own power grid.

Davis called the plan a ``Trojan horse,'' and state power regulators dismissed the cap as inadequate, saying it would profit power generators at ratepayers' expense.

-- Anonymous, May 30, 2001

Davis' canny use of media manages to upstage Bush

Phillip Matier, Andrew Ross Wednesday, May 30, 2001

The spinmeisters worked overtime to control yesterday's George Bush-Gray Davis energy shootout -- but from the looks of things, Davis' folks got the upper hand.

The White House had tried to dodge a punch by scheduling the Davis-Bush meeting too late for the national evening news -- but Davis' people didn't miss a beat.

They held a little premeeting gathering of their own up in the governor's suite at the Century Plaza in Los Angeles at 10 in the morning where they invited a group of people from San Diego to come in and tell their energy crisis "horror stories."

And wouldn't you know it, all the national press was invited to Davis' meeting as well.

The governor then did separate "sit-downs" with five national networks. And that didn't include the network morning shows he appeared on just to get things rolling.

"It was pretty clear that the Bush team wanted the president's Camp Pendleton visit to be the story of the day," Davis' right-hand political adviser Garry South said as the cameras were setting up. "But hey, what can I say -- we're pretty good at what we do, too."

Then, of course, there were the battling postpresidential-confab news conferences: Davis on the ground floor, and Bush advisers Gerald Parsky and Karl Rove holding forth one floor below.

But again Davis got the upper hand -- 18 TV cameras showed up for the governor's press conference. The Bush team got only one.

Bush, on the other hand, did receive a standing ovation at a luncheon speech before the World Affairs Council, also at the Century Plaza.

Even some Republicans were taken aback by the Bush team's apparent lack of political thinking in the sit-down with Davis.

"The meeting never should have happened in the first place," said former U.S. Secretary of Energy (and former state GOP chairman) John Herrington.

In Herrington's view, it was clear from the start that Davis was "just going to use the meeting to kick the stuffing out of the president."

And if there was to be a meeting, he says, it should have included some Republican legislators who support the president's energy plan.

"That way, they would at least have people coming out on the president's side," Herrington said. "This way, Bush just comes off as Davis' scapegoat."

And with every move, an ever-courteous Davis played the role to the hilt, sticking like glue to his main talking points:

-- California is building new energy plants as fast as possible.

-- The state is undertaking a major conservation drive.

-- The president needs to back temporary price controls to limit the skyrocketing electric prices being charged by out-of-state power companies.

And at the end of the day, that was pretty much the message that went out.

DOMESTIC MATTERS: Big sit-down the other day at the D.A.'s office -- with Terence Hallinan making it clear that he wants the "charge count" upped on domestic-violence cases.

Seems stats show that San Francisco is running below the state average when it comes to taking domestic cases to court.

In April, for example, of the 192 domestic-violence cases brought in by the cops, fewer than half wound up going to court -- mostly for lack of evidence.

But Hallinan (who is already eyeing a run for mayor) wants that to change.

"We've got to do better even if it means tightening up the charging criteria," Hallinan told us.

In other words -- push cases they know they're going to lose.

"It's B.S.," one cop tells us. "They're just doing this so that the numbers look better -- the cases are just going to get tossed anyway."

Maybe, but as far as Hallinan is concerned, that's just "all part of the process."

LAWYER BUZZ: The big energy suppliers aren't the only ones cashing in big time on California's gas and electric crunch -- so are the lawyers and consultants handling Pacific Gas and Electric Co.'s bankruptcy.

According to the Daily Journal legal newspaper, dozens of attorneys and financial consultants -- some charging as much as $550 an hour -- have been assigned to the case. And they stand to collect "tens of millions of dollars" in fees before their work is finished.

And although a bankruptcy judge must sign off on the final bill, the newspaper says, "Whatever amount the judge finally approves, including fees for attorneys for both the utility and its creditors, comes out of the PG&E bankruptcy estate, which ultimately means the pockets of ratepayers."

In the case of San Francisco's Howard, Rice, Nemerovski, Canady, Falk & Rabkin, the law firm not only raised its rates by 16 percent -- but tripled its proposed PG&E team to 34 lawyers and assistants.

"A one-hour meeting of the entire team would cost the utility $9,575," says the Daily Journal. "That's $159 a minute."

Chronicle staff writer Carla Marinucci contributed to this report. / Chronicle columnists Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross can be heard on KGO Radio on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Phil Matier can also be seen regularly on KRON-TV. Got a tip? Call the

-- Anonymous, May 30, 2001

DOMESTIC MATTERS: Big sit-down the other day at the D.A.'s office -- with Terence Hallinan making it clear that he wants the "charge count" upped on domestic-violence cases.

Seems stats show that San Francisco is running below the state average when it comes to taking domestic cases to court.

In April, for example, of the 192 domestic-violence cases brought in by the cops, fewer than half wound up going to court -- mostly for lack of evidence. But Hallinan (who is already eyeing a run for mayor) wants that to change.

"We've got to do better even if it means tightening up the charging criteria," Hallinan told us. In other words -- push cases they know they're going to lose.

"It's B.S.," one cop tells us. "They're just doing this so that the numbers look better -- the cases are just going to get tossed anyway."

Maybe, but as far as Hallinan is concerned, that's just "all part of the process."

The cases may get tossed, but the people involved will be 'on record' even if nothing was proved.

-- Anonymous, May 30, 2001