shallowdeep
Posts: 343
Joined: 9/1/2006
From: California
Status: offline
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I'd like to reiterate what CalifChick already pointed out, that the proposed automatic thermostat adjustments that can't be overridden by the consumer apply only in power emergencies, i.e. where the alternative is that somebody gets no power at all. Having the capability to do this makes a lot of sense, as the economic and health impact of what would otherwise have been an avoidable blackout make the discomfort of a few extra degrees minor in comparison.
You can make the case that, if managed properly, such emergency situations should never occur. However, in general there is not an issue with electrical power supply in the state (see the Independent System Operator's System Status. Significantly over-engineering capacity to prevent emergencies during unusual demand peaks is one approach, but it's wasteful and, looking at it from a capitalistic perspective, unprofitable.
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ORIGINAL: cyberdude611
The reason california has an energy crisis is because they havnt built a power plant in that state in decades, yet the state has grown like crazy.
As pointed out by Bufotenin, this is blatantly false. (Sort the spreadsheet by YEAR_ONLINE, or see a more limited fact sheet for the basic point.) In fact, 34% of the state's electrical power generation capacity was built in the past 20 years.
You can argue that not enough capacity has been built, but that's not entirely the fault of the all-powerful (and apparently communist) state government. California often tries things not commonly adopted in the rest of the country - including not only energy conservation backed by environmentalists, but also energy industry deregulation backed by free market advocates. While environmental standards are stricter than elsewhere, there was never a ban on new (non-nuclear) facilities that I'm aware of. An audit completed in 2001 found that the approval process was longer than intended (at 17 months) but was reasonable and not that much longer than approval processes examined in other states (which ranged from 7 to 30 months). In the 90's private industry just didn't see the market, especially with deregulation uncertainties, as warranting the capital investment for many new large plants and, unlike a proper socialist state, California's government isn't in the business of building power plants.
At any rate, the conservation efforts that, coupled with the weather, make California the most efficient state per capita in use of electricity seem to be working out pretty well. According to the ISO's news releases, there hasn't been a Stage 3 Electrical Emergency (i.e. a rolling blackout) since the energy crisis ended in 2001.
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ORIGINAL: TheHeretic
Like most socialist theories about centralized control, it will only make the problem worse, as individuals turn up their less efficient window mounted a/c.
A far better plan would be to encourage the installation of more efficient secondary systems like I have.
Good points. The changes are only a (small) part of the proposed 2008 update to Title 24, Part 6, of the California Code of Regulations: California's Energy Efficiency Standards for Residential and Nonresidential Buildings. So other methods of improving new buildings' efficiency are required as well, the thermostats are on top of them and, on average, I imagine the savings will probably well more than offset higher usage from those who compensate with window units or the like (just think of all the units that aren't even occupied when the A/C is on).
I appreciate non-residents of California bringing this up (I hadn't heard of it), but can't say I share your concerns. It seems like a reasonable application of technology to help reduce power consumption to me. Conservation tends to be cheaper (and certainly has less environmental impact) than building new power plants. I'm certainly not upset about it, but I don't have air conditioning... =)
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Enviro-pinkos in Sacramento: "And the increase in perspiration can help with the water crisis too!"
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RE: So now the kooks in Calif. want to control your the... - 
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