How the California Electricity Crisis Generated a Green Wave

This book provides the definitive account of a decade-long transformation of energy policy in California with rippling consequences. The author, a state government “insider” during much of this period, tells a story informed by personal experience, access to the key actors of the time (both then and now), and extensive research.

California’s risky experiment in deregulating the state’s electricity market in the 1990s, resulting in manipulation from unscrupulous energy providers and necessitating government action, laid the foundation for a greener grid and greater energy efficiency in the early 2000s and beyond. The book follows the state’s energy journey through Democratic Governor Gray Davis’s administration and his Republican successor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s time in office, providing a detailed behind-the-scenes account. It highlights how this period influenced broader discussions of energy policy in the U.S., culminating in President Barack Obama pledging bold action and securing $90 billion for clean energy programs in the 2009 “stimulus” bill, the largest single “green” investment in history at that point in time. The energy crisis provided a springboard for green growth by discrediting deregulation, elevating public support, and establishing a political pathway for a growing array of sustainable energy advocates.

This book engagingly balances policy considerations and political drama to reveal the untold details of how the electricity crisis paved the way for key climate and clean energy policies and offers unprecedented access to archival material from the Davis administration era. It will be a must-read for energy policymakers, researchers, and environmental historians.