WOW. They managed to sneak that one in under the radar. Thanks for the post and link, I had no idea this was about to happen. <img src="/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

Without getting political, it's interesting how the legislators in certain areas feel they are going to save the planet and fix everything. I learned the other day that the largest consumer of disposable plastic bags isn't the United States, but rather Japan. There seems to be a lot of manipulating of information behind the scenes to make people believe one way or another. Yes, we have global climate change, but I have a hard time accepting that it's entirely the fault of the human population. Mother Nature has her hands in it, too.

A loss of 20% of electricity by coal-fired plants means that California's feel-good politicians just drove the cost of electricity up THAT much more for the end consumer. My prediction is that what has already been sky-high costs since Gray Davis (and probably before) are going to be thrown into low-Earth orbit like two guys piloting an SR-71 on crack.

So the legislators are going to go home feeling good at the end of the day, the electricity suppliers (PG&E, etc.) are going to make a bigger killing, and folks I know in the Golden State are going to be pissed at the end of each month.

The irony is that there are folks who have put in solar panels on their homes in CA and generate so much electricity that they can pump the surplus back into the grid and get paid for it. It would be nice to see big tax breaks and exemptions for people willing to do this, thereby reducing the strain (somewhat) on the power system.