Beginning in the winter of 2000, California’s power supply has had a shortage leading to many blackouts across the state. Electricity cannot be stored; it has to be generated, transformed, and distributed to meet the exact demand. Therefore, a power shortage occurs when the demand is not immediately met. There are four main causes of the blackouts: restricted hydroelectric power, no new facilities, growing population, and price mitigation.
First, California has been relying on Pacific Northwest power industries to supply the generation of power. Because of recent droughts in the area, reservoir levels are too low to keep up with the growing demand for electricity in California. They cannot generate enough power to be considered a reliable source. Hence, the hydroelectric power companies have breached their agre
The federal government response is just as irrelevant as the state. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is conducting an investigation on the crisis to see who or what is to blame. The only meaningful action that the FERC has taken is to require that power generator companies supply power to California even though the distributors are not able to pay. This action has to be done by the FERC because California is unable to regulate out of state companies.
Fourth, power shortages have created an increase in demand for electricity. The price for electricity has now increased dramatically from five cents per KWH to over one dollar per KWH. However, the Public Utility Board has limited distributors to charge only seven cents per KWH. Due to these conditions, suppliers are in billion-dollar debt. The government needs to use its powe
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