The lights are going out in California, not a pleasant prospect for residents and businesses of the Golden State. The situation offers a lesson we avoid at our peril—public policy has consequences.

That simple principle, which should be obvious, seems to elude many legislators and policymakers. But the “rolling blackouts” now sweeping our state, and which are likely to become worse under the heavy demands of summer, make the link between ideas and results unavoidable.

The blackouts are the result of failed public policy. Had that policy been based on the best information, and had it been fiscally responsible, farsighted, and prudent, the result would have been different. But politics won out over prudence, and popularity trumped practicality. Now the state must deal with the result.

This guide for legislators traces California’s energy problem to its roots and offers a way out of the current crisis. That will require hard decisions from legislators and policymakers, but that is equally true of all key policy areas.

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