I watched the Frontline episode on the California energy crisis last night and I came away more discouraged than ever. Everyone seems to blame someone else, people are denying and pointing fingers, and no one seems to be doing anything to actually fix the problem. It's so frustrating. So I've come up with a plan, which is temporary but may do something to ease the consumer's pain: Don't pay your bill. Think about it. Don't pay it. What if everyone simply ceased to pay their PG&E bill? Maybe we'd all get turned off. Or maybe we wouldn't. Or maybe we just pay what we feel is "just and reasonable," so something like 1/3rd of the bill each month we pay. Of course, eveyone needs to participate to get this to work, but there's strength in numbers. Nobody's looking out for the little (wo)man, we've got to look out for ourselves.
Interestingly enough, during Frontline last night, lots of energy company executives (the people whose companies are trading in electricity on the open market [read: buying low and selling high]) claim to not know who's making all the money on the California crisis. "It's certainly not us," many said with straight faces to the camera. Funny then to see this article in today's Chronicle: Power Kingpins Rake in Millions in Stock Deals. Of course, they were only exercising options because their companies were doing well, it may have no direct correlation with the possible price gouging. Right? Maybe the Grand Jury will get to the bottom of this. Somehow I doubt it.