‘Blackout’ Tries to Shed Light on Crisis

With each passing day, there’s seemingly a new surge in California’s energy crisis.

“Frontline” addresses that hot-button issue tonight in an hour aptly titled “Blackout” (9 p.m. KCET, 10 p.m. KVCR).

Through interviews with state and federal officials, utility executives and industry insiders, the documentary examines whether power companies and energy-trading giants have capitalized on deregulation to accrue enormous profits as consumers and business owners suffer power shortages and rising rate hikes.

Jeff Skilling, CEO of the Enron Corp., the largest energy trader in the world, sees his company as one of the “good guys.”

“We are working to create open, competitive, fair markets,” he tells reporter Lowell Bergman, who wryly notes that if true, lately the good guys have been winning since the past year has seen a large transfer of wealth from energy consumers to power sellers and traders like Enron.

After raising the topics of deregulation and the bankruptcy of Pacific Gas & Electric, Bergman interviews S. Davis Freeman, the former Los Angeles Department of Water and Power chief, Gov. Gray Davis and Vice President Dick Cheney.

There are no easy answers in this complex issue, with one side pointing fingers at the other, but one thing is certain: A long, hot summer is likely to yield more rolling blackouts for California consumers, while other states wait to see if they will be adversely affected as well.

Surf Report

SPECIALS

“Safety Challenge 2001” (10 p.m. Court TV) tells the stories behind such crimes as mugging, carjacking, rape and cyber-stalking. Viewers are then asked what they would do if they faced a similar situation. Afterward, a team of experts explains what’s right and wrong about their decisions.

SERIES

As if NBC and A&E; airings aren’t enough, now TNT joins the ranks of networks carrying “Law & Order.” The ninth and 10 seasons of creator Dick Wolf’s Emmy-winning drama will be shown Tuesdays at 8 p.m., beginning tonight with the 200th episode featuring guest star Julia Roberts.

MOVIES

A vengeful killer stalks Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr. in the cliched 1997 teen thriller “I Know What You Did Last Summer” (8 p.m. WB).