Pay Now? utilities would pass along the higher prices all at a clip, leveling the books, but throwing customers into severe rate shock.

or Pay Later? utilities would defer the charges over months or even a year, to keep bills stable for ratepayers, but at the risk that some customers would end up paying for gas they never bought in the first place.

* All four of the operational independent system operators (ISOs) in the United States experience market-power problems when demand is high (typically during the summer). As a consequence, the four ISOs impose price or bid caps on the participating generators. A robust demand side that participated in bulk-power markets might obviate the need for such caps.

The six o'clock news has locked its radar on California's power market meltdown, and rightly so. But that's no reason to overlook the nation's heartland, where a utility coming late to the game has set the pot boiling.