The Legacy of Enron in California’s Power Challenges Today
Marketplace reports on Faculty Director of the Energy Institute, Meredith Fowlie, discussing California’s energy market restructuring, which has improved the efficiency of the power plants.
“I’m not going to suggest that these markets are perfect but two decades later, there’s clear evidence that restructuring has improved efficiency of power plants and improved operational coordination across the grid,” said UC Berkeley economics professor Meredith Fowlie. Fowlie said one misstep in California’s approach was limiting how much power the state could secure ahead of time, leaving much to the spot market. Former Governor Davis agreed. “About 25% of the power we need, we begin to look for at four in the afternoon on the day we need it from the 11 western states…”