GOP, Not Davis, Halts Energy Solutions

Re “Now Davis Doing Too Much, Energy Critics Say,” Sept. 4: Gov. Gray Davis is being criticized for doing too much? When the governor asked for help with the energy crisis from the Legislature, the Republicans, unable to put party politics aside and smarting from their failure with their energy deregulation baby, managed to grind any legislative action to a halt. Meanwhile, they continued to blame the crisis on inaction by the governor. Then they recessed, leaving the Southern California Edison bailout unresolved and arguably worsening the crisis.

Now forced to go it alone by a Legislature successfully stalled by the Republicans, the governor has been outstanding in finding alternative ways to make real progress toward resolution of the crisis. Of course, for the Republicans he is doing too much. He is messing with their political opportunity.

Winsor Crosby

Long Beach

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After the electricity “Gray-outs” last winter, electricity prices were soaring. Davis perpetrated a series of fixed-price contracts with the electric companies for long periods of time (five, 10 and 20 years). Southern California’s cool summer has saved us from a summer of electricity shortages, but California is saddled with purchasing vast amounts of surplus electricity.

Electricity cannot be practically stored. The only place to sell it is on the electricity spot market. The hitch is that the state is realizing only pennies of return for each dollar of contractually required expenditure. This electricity could be sold to Southern California Edison by the state at the spot price, or spot price plus a handling charge. The SCE users would benefit. The state taxpayers would lose nothing.

Stanley C. Mellin

Rancho Palos Verdes