[33653] in North American Network Operators' Group
Re: Second day of rolling blackouts starts
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Steven M. Bellovin)
Thu Jan 18 17:39:44 2001
From: "Steven M. Bellovin" <smb@research.att.com>
To: Roeland Meyer <rmeyer@mhsc.com>
Cc: "'matthew@tycho.net'" <matthew@tycho.net>,
"'Sean Donelan'" <sean@donelan.com>, nanog@merit.edu,
matthew@admin.tycho.net
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Date: Thu, 18 Jan 2001 16:57:06 -0500
Message-Id: <20010118215707.0B74135C42@smb.research.att.com>
Errors-To: owner-nanog-outgoing@merit.edu
In message <9DC8BBAD4FF100408FC7D18D1F092286039B05@condor.mhsc.com>, Roeland Me
yer writes:
>
>The "gamble", as you put it, was changed significantly when deregulation
>moved the goal-posts. It was dependent on the utilities retaining control of
>generator costs. The de-regulators were supposed to cover that scenario.
>They didn't. If an indivudual tried this, with another individual, they call
>it extortion and the individual in queston would be rotting in jail. The
>salient fact is that the generators are threatening to bankrupt PG&E unless
>the state pays the extortion amount, by midnight.
>
>Does anyone have a clue what would happen if the state doesn't pay? Would
>the state have to step in and start operating PG&E? IMHO, if this isn't
>corrected, todays rolling blackouts will be trivial, compared to a total
>PG&E collapse of services.
If PG&E files for bankruptcy, control of the company passes to a
federal judge. If you subscribe to the NY Times site, see
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/18/national/18ENER.html
Here's the first paragraph:
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 17 - Politicians and
power company executives have bickered
for months about how best to solve
California's energy problems, but ultimately it
may come down to this: a bankruptcy court
judge may be the only person with the authority
to ask for the rate increases and cost cuts that a
growing chorus of analysts say are necessary,
but that nobody in the state has been able to
agree upon.
--Steve Bellovin, http://www.research.att.com/~smb
