Almost 30 years ago, California legislators faced a test of their integrity in the vote for an electrical deregulation program for which taxpayers are still paying. They voted unanimously to throw the Californians at the Wolves of Enron. Later this month, a new generation of California legislators will face a similar test.
The bill in question fundamentally changes our electricity market from a market in California to a Western regional market. To do this, legislators throw protections put in place after the Enron crisis which require that the electricity market and the California network comply with the interests of Californians and to manage prices and maximize supply. In other words, the bill allows everything the market will support, and this is not generally good for consumers.
The creation of the market region also puts our environmental laws, including our renewable portfolio standards, which set the decarbonization objectives, with the aim of the Federal Energy Regulation (FERC) of Trump. At the minute when California becomes a regional market, the FERC has jurisdiction to invalidate our laws and any player in the regional market, including owners of coal plantations, can challenge our environmental laws.
After the electricity crisis, California won the right to control its own market with its own rules in one case called ISO c. FERC. The current bill, SB 540 written by Senator Josh Becker, will cancel all these protections at the time that Trump would like to demand that regional market players buy coal energy, as he did in 2018.
Given the commitment of the Democrats of California to stop global warming, it should be unthinkable that they take behind such a proposal. In fact, the last two times the proposal appeared, they elected it for these same reasons.
This time, the SB 540, supported by Governor Newsom and groups that supported deregulation like the NRDC, should evolve in what will be a test of the integrity and careers of each legislator who votes on it.
What strength could be large enough for California to give up its right to dictate its energy policy to Trump and owners of coal factories? Google, Amazon, Microsoft and the rest of the “seven magnificent” companies that need more and more electricity so that their data centers feed their AI. With Pacificorp, the usefulness belonging to Buffet Warren with Western regional coal -fired power plants, these Silicon Valley companies feed this decision.
Becker claims to have put “railings”, but they do not make sense. For example, the California independent System Operator (Caiso) will direct the network, but power on market rules will always be set by a regional organization subject to Trump’s FERC. Caiso will have to vote in 2027 to press the trigger, but Caiso is the largest booster of SB 540.
California buys and already sells electricity throughout the West without giving up power to a regional operator, but not in enough quantity for the inexhaustible hunger of the AI data centers.
In addition to being an environmentalist, Becker is also an investor in AI technology. Its disclosure forms, which only provide its investments, show between $ 250,000 and $ 3.5 million invested in a Portfolio of AI action on the AI. His bet should not be the bet of California.
How will the legislators do during the Becker test? Governor Newsom will be absent in a year and a half, but each legislator who votes on SB 540 will have to face the day when Trump’s FERC cancels our renewable portfolio standard and forces us to pay the coal. It is inevitable if we give this power to Ferc, and the soot will be in the hands of each legislator which brings this change.
Jamie Court is the president of the Watchdog of the defense group for non -profit defenders.
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