California legislators are still struggling to fashion a plan that could solve the state's power crisis. Proposals that would increase consumer rates face sharp opposition, especially after an independent audit showed that Pacific Gas and Electric, one of the financially troubled utilities, was slow to conserve cash even when signs of the crisis began to appear. In Washington today, the Republican head of the Senate Energy Committee said taxpayers may pay billions of dollars if California's two big utilities default on their debts.
Copyright 2001 NPR