Deregulation of Electricity

Am I missing something about electrical deregulation? Most major utilities sold their power plants to newly formed companies. These new producers have to recover their initial investment, their operation costs and make a profit. The utilities now buy their power from the Power Exchange at the going rate, which rises and falls upon demand, and resell it to the customers at a profit. They all say that this will cost the consumer less.

People who think that their electric rates are not going to increase must have their heads in the sand. Every time OPEC raises its price, our gas prices rise. If they pay 20 or 100 times more for the electricity, doesn’t that mean that they will charge you more?

AL NISKI

Redondo Beach

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Re “Keeping Some Regulation in Electricity Deregulation,” Aug. 6: I am a volunteer with the Oaks project that was instrumental in putting Proposition 9 on the ballot. I take issue with Kenneth Reich’s misgivings about Proposition 9--”that if adopted, we would be in for another years-long siege of litigation.” The 1996 deregulation plan as passed by the Legislature has every household in California giving the utility companies an average of $20 per month for the next 10 years!

This is on top of excessively high rates as compared with other states across the nation. Should we sit back and let the utility companies rob us just because it will be difficult to stop them? No! No doubt, it is going to be a long battle. That’s all the more reason for undertaking it without delay.

CYMRA HASKELL

Topanga