Green = Deregulation laws/orders in place
Yellow = Not deregulated

California

Electricity Rates

Residential = 12 cents/kwh (National ranking: 9)

Commerical = 10 cents/kwh
(National ranking: 10)

Industrial = 7 cents/kwh(National ranking: 9)

kwh = kilowatt hour
1st ranking = highest rate in catagory

Deregulation

California enacted utility deregulation in 1996 and it went into effect for customers of traditional power companies in April 1998. The initial law provided for a 10 percent rate reduction and required power companies to buy power on the wholesale market. Reduced supply and increased demand led to price hikes in the summer of 2000 and throughout early 2001. The state has moved to speed up construction of new plants and has agreed to buy power on the open market and make it available to utilities and their customers. Despite these efforts, the state's two major utilities have seen their debts top $12 billion as wholesale prices greatly outpace capped rates. Regulators imposed rolling blackouts in early 2001 as power supplies dwindled, and the state approved rate increases of over 40 percent for customers of the two major utilities, effective in May.

More Information

Department of Energy Information on California

California Energy Commission powerderegulation Page

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Return to Power: An Online NewsHour Special Report


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