It sure is good they spent a few billion on those Smart Meters!

Reasons from the article: (my comments)

coal-fired plants are shut down, nuclear power is reduced and consumers switch to renewable energy.

(OK forget that renewable energy part, if they don't have to produce power then why does that make the price go up?)

coal piles froze, sensitive electrical equipment went haywire and utility operators had trouble finding enough natural gas to keep power plants running. The wholesale price of electricity skyrocketed to nearly $2 per kilowatt hour, more than 40 times the normal rate.

(Went up for what reason? Is your power company run by idiots that will pay any price to price gougers?)

One recent study predicts the cost of electricity in California alone could jump 47% over the next 16 years, in part because of the state's shift toward more expensive renewable energy.

(Really? Really? At $1/W for solar panels?)

the steady reduction in generating capacity across the nation means that prices are headed up.

(If you are reducing because we all have solar on our roofs, then cut back what you spend. WTF?)

The problems confronting the electricity system are the result of a wide range of forces: new federal regulations on toxic emissions, rules on greenhouse gases, state mandates for renewable power, technical problems at nuclear power plants and unpredictable price trends for natural gas. Even cheap hydro power is declining in some areas, particularly California, owing to the long-lasting drought.

New emissions rules on mercury, acid gases and other toxics by the Environmental Protection Agency are expected to result in significant losses of the nation's coal-generated power, historically the largest and cheapest source of electricity. Already, two dozen coal generating units across the country are scheduled for decommissioning. When the regulations go into effect next year, 60 gigawatts of capacity - equivalent to the output of 60 nuclear reactors - will be taken out of the system, according to Energy Department estimates.

(poor little power company has to clean up it's act)

When those natural gas prices start going up again, we will feel it in the way of higher electricity prices

( And we will buy more solar panels! )

In some cases, the renewable power costs as much as twice the price of electricity from new gas-fired power plants.

( STOP LYING and get on the internet and check some prices, are you that gullible? Do you check anything anymore before you publish something in your newspaper? )

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-power-prices-20140426,0,6329274.story