The CPUC was long ago captured by the power suppliers, and has a consistent record of imposing abjectly stupid legislation. This phenomenon isn't limited to California, however: in Oregon it's illegal to capture rainwater, and in Florida it is illegal to attempt to generate your own electricity by any means. The fact is, the USA is a deeply corrupt and dysfunctional place, with each State adding an additional layer of dysfunction. The bizarre thing is that so many US citizens blithely buy into the Disneyesque illusion that they live in "the land of the free." In reality, the USA is on par with countries like Italy and Hungary when it comes to dysfunction and corruption; it's just that US citizens are oblivious to reality.