Climate Changed
A Radical, Enron-Era Measure Revived as Fires Burn Power Giants
- Pending bill would empower an agency to purchase electricity
- State took a similar step during energy crisis 2 decades ago
Transmission towers stand outside Paradise in 2018.
Photographer: David Paul Morris/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Two decades ago, in the midst of an energy crisis and rampant power market manipulation, California took the radical step of buying electricity for millions of residents.
Now, with the state’s biggest utility in bankruptcy, it’s considering doing that again.