Davis on Power Crisis

* Re “Davis Acknowledges Need for Rate Hike,” April 6: But of course! While the greed-monger electric producers get off scot-free to enjoy their obscene profits and huge pay raises, we are told to conserve and pay more. Gov. Gray Davis and the other politicos will sleep well, knowing that the energy industry will have even more money to contribute to their campaigns, while we sleep not at all.

TRENT D. SANDERS

La Canada

*

Thursday night I was about to watch Gov. Davis’ address on the power problem. The announcer said, “We are going live to Sacramento,” and the lights went out. After sitting there in the dark for awhile, I decided this wasn’t anything new. There wasn’t even a power alert in effect. Two hours later, after the lights came back on, I did catch a repeat of his speech. That was nothing new either.

The plan he ordered in mid-March to reward people who wasted power in the past--by giving them a 20% reduction in their rate now for remembering to turn the lights off--is unfair to those of us who have been conserving all along and will get a rate increase for our efforts. We are being penalized for buying those expensive, high-efficiency fluorescent lights.

While Democrats continue to blame former Republican Gov. Pete Wilson, the undisputed fact is that the problem is the result of California’s population growth. That growth is due entirely to immigration. If the liberals had not overturned Proposition 187 back in 1994, we wouldn’t be having these problems now. Resurrecting it would help eliminate the problem.

JOHN MESSINA

San Jose

*

Re “Probe of Utility Money Transfers Ordered,” April 4: The PUC is wasting time again. Instead of focusing on the problem they created with electricity deregulation, they are now investigating the financial transactions between the utilities and the parent companies. What can come of that review? Either everything is OK, as the recent audits showed us. Or there is still a little more money available to the utilities before they go bankrupt. Who cares?

What we need to do is to deal with the problem. Energy costs far more to the utilities than the PUC has so far allowed in rates. That difference is so very large that even the state cannot afford to buy electricity without the recent PUC rate increase, which is required to go directly to the state.

Come on, PUC, deal with the real issues and do it before summer.

THOMAS LONG

Novato, Calif.

*

It’s outrageous that the majority of the people of California continue to face rolling blackouts and rate increases while the inhabitants of a few lucky municipalities smugly roll along unaffected by the tragedy all around them. Davis should immediately order the unaffected generators like the L.A. Department of Water and Power, Glendale, Pasadena, Burbank and others to pool all their power into the grid. There is no reason why these cities should be exempt. This is a crisis for California. We are all in it together. It’s only fair that we share the burden.

TERRY QUINN

Van Nuys

*

We already know that oil and water do not mix. We will now learn that brownouts and economic growth do not mix either.

ROY A. FASSEL

Los Angeles