The Perfect Crime

As we're now finding out, Gov. Davis may be the only one who won't have to pay for his mishandling of the energy crisis

A A A Comments (0) By Matt Smith Wednesday, Dec 26 2001

But starting in September, legislation enabling the $12 billion bailout outlawed all new power contracts that don't involve PG&E, Southern California Edison Co., or San Diego Gas & Electric Co. These utilities need all available customers in order to finance the bailout, lawmakers reasoned when they drew up the bill.

Otherwise, "It would be like voluntary Social Security," says Public Utilities Commissioner Geoff Brown: Many customers would opt out.

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Remember all those "green electricity" billboards that sprouted around the state two years ago? Buying green power is illegal now, unless it's from PG&E.

So last week S.F. BOMA sent a letter to the Public Utilities Commission asking if it could replace its Enron contract, which is destined to become null, with a contract with another cheap, outside producer. Brown was skeptical. "It's my sense that the commission is going to take a strict interpretation of direct access issues," he said.

Ken Cleaveland, governmental affairs director for S.F. BOMA, is realistic.

"I don't think we have a snowball's chance in hell to look for providers aside from PG&E," Cleaveland says. "We're kind of stuck."

As time goes on, California's public universities will pay millions of dollars in higher electricity bills, a cost they will pass on to taxpayers and students. San Francisco office building owners, a third of whose costs come in the form of electricity bills, will pass their coming rate hike on to commercial renters. Factories, farms, offices, builders, schools, consumers -- all the people and institutions playing a role in the state's economic recovery -- will find themselves fettered by the need to repay Davis' $12 billion bailout.

It's a high price to pay for political hay.