Feature Archives

Keep pressure on the governor, other elected officials, and the Public Utilities Commission (PUC). Tell them that throwing money at the utilities to bail them out does absolutely nothing to solve the underlying problems driving the crisis. If we are going to spend money, we need to take over power plants and the grid and establish conservation, efficiencey, and green energy programs that really work!

Governor Gray Davis
State Capitol Bldg.
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 445-2841
Fax: (916) 445-4633
Email: GrayDavis@governor.ca.gov

PUC President Loretta Lynch
California Public Utilities Commission
505 Van Ness Avenue, 5th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94102
Phone: (415) 703-2444
Fax: (415) 703-1758
Email: Lyn@cpuc.ca.gov


YOUR State Legislators (Senate and Assembly)
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814
For your legislator's contact info, call the State Government info line at (916 657-9900 or
Project Vote Smart at (888) VOTE-SMART or on-line at http://www.vote-smart.org

2/4/01 teach-in in Berkeley: report | video | Medea Benjamin  
Hundreds marched through SF in protest on Jan. 24th.
One person was arrested.  More photos of 1/24/01
See video from Jan 5 and Jan 9 protests in SF.

Just say NO to a bailout.
And say YES to a state power authority and
YES to reliable, clean, affordable energy.


Do something to make a difference!

Put the deregulation genie back in the bottle: RE-REGULATE!

Community leaders and other Californians have been petitioning Gov. Davis to stop using sorely-needed tax dollars for the bailout of utility companies. Instead, the utilities should go bankrupt and be taken over by the state (this would not involve any interruption of electricity to consumers).

Activists are rallying to build a movement that will turn the utility companies into public power utilities, answerable to consumers, not high-paid executives. This campaign attempts to build alliances between consumers and PG&E employees who are being laid off. The organizers see public utilities as a solution to the problems, and point out that forty-seven communities in California have their own municipal utilities, are suffering no shortages of electricity, and are enjoying lower rates.

In New York, 1st Rochdale Cooperative, the country's first urban electricity cooperative, started preparing three years ago for energy deregulation by organizing housing cooperatives in New York City to purchase their own electricity. Now it provides the lowest kilowatt price per hour in the area.

Oregon passed an energy deregulation bill. | Washington state wants to renege on power sales to California

Power supplier Enron Corporation was George Bush's largest campaign contributor. Now we know that this had a direct bearing on Bush's refusal to consider a cap on electricity prices.   Hear former Energy Sec'y Bill Richardson talk about the California energy crisis, Burma and his expectations about Bush's energy policies (Jan. 2001).
Texas manufactures California energy crisis (Feb. 2001)