What did the restructuring legislation do?
California restructuring contained four main provisions. The bill: (1) froze retail rates at levels above utility costs for up to five years to help them transition to a competitive electricity market; (2) encouraged but did not require utilities to sell at least half of their gas-fired power plants to the highest bidders; (3) permitted non-utilities to invest private capital to build and operate power plants in a competitive environment without the protection of state regulated cost recovery; and (4) permitted consumers to purchase electricity directly from sellers other than their local utility.
