This year's shocking irony: the lights are on in California, but there's nobody home at Enron. Earlier this year energy shortages caused rolling blackouts that shut down factories and stranded people in elevators. A half-baked foray into deregulation caused the state to pay unbudgeted billions of dollars to energy producers to wheel some juice its way. GOVERNOR GRAY DAVIS blamed the shortage on out-of-state corporate "pirates," such as Enron and Entergy.
Last week Christmas decorations glowed from Yreka to Jacumba. A slacking economy has curtailed demand, while falling fuel prices have lowered production costs. There's power to spare everywhere, so the...