Top California power regulator pushes grid master plan

California, for the first time, is forging a single plan to guard against the blackouts and price spikes that battered it during the 2000-2001 energy crisis.

“California has aimed before to upgrade the power system, but this is the first time that state agencies have committed to work together on a single plan,” Michael Peevey said, the new president of the California Public Utilities Commission. He also said that California plans to cut consumer demand through aggressive conservation programs, build up to 2,000 megawatts of new plant capacity a year, and add renewable energy to strengthen supplies – power for 2 million homes.

California’s energy future, outlined in the plan drafted by the CPUC and two other power agencies, also will feature small generating plants in neighborhoods where the energy is used, a revamped power grid, and new pipelines to import natural gas.