Although corporations seem to be willing to give the state's plan a chance, Kosmont notes that the truly large bills are just starting to hit. "I'm starting to see articles giving examples of companies whose bills are going from $45,000 per month to $100,000 a month," he explains. "And it's that kind of pain that really makes businesses wake up and really take a look around. So there is a possibility that in the next six months we'll start to see an increase in activity in terms of companies looking at out-of-state opportunities. And that's because, not only are the prices of energy high, but there's an uncertainty where they will go. And industry needs certainty."

California's Top Investments
1/1/2001 - 7/11/01
Company	N/E	Product	Location	Investment (in millions US$)
Mountainview Power Plant	N	Natural Gas Fired Plant	San Bernardino	$550
Metro Goldwyn Mayer	N	Motion Pictures	Century City	500
Calpine Corp.	N	Natural Gas Power Plant	Bakersfield	500
Duke Power	N	Natural Gas Power Plant	Moss Landing	500
Constellation Power Source	N	Natural Gas Power Plant	Victorville	450
Enron	N	Natural Gas Power Plant	Roseville	310
Western Midway	N	Natural Gas Power Plant	Derby Acres	300
Blythe Energy Power	N	Natural Gas Power Plant	Blythe	300
Gladstone Institute	N	Biotechnology	San Francisco	100
Wilson Meany LLC	N	Office	San Francisco	80
Adamson Companies	N	Hotel	Malibu	55
Allianz Insurance	N	Insurance	Burbank	50
Santa Rosa Plaza	N	Hotel	La Quinta	50
Van Walters & Rogers	N	Chemical Distribution	Commerce	45
Solit Interest Group	E	Hotel	Indian Wells	45
United Parcel Service	E	Delivery Services	Ontario	42
Target Corp.	E	Retail Distribution	Ontario	40
Pacific Sunwear	N	Clothing	Anaheim Hills	40
Performance Team Freight	E	Distribution/Warehouse	San Pedro	36
FCB Southern California	N	Advertising	Irvine	35
Source: Conway Data New Plants Data Base

      Kosmont Cos. released its Kosmont Cost of Doing Business Survey in April, which shows the jumps in energy costs (see chart). The study, based on a typical 50,000-sq.-ft. (4,645-sq.-m.) manufacturing facility as a constant, shows that Long Beach, one of the cities served by Southern California Edison, saw a 145 percent increase in its yearly average electric costs. Sacramento (75 percent), San Diego (66 percent), San Francisco (61 percent) and San Jose (61 percent) saw their rates increase as well.
      However, Kosmont says that things are falling into place that will help stabilize prices at their current rates. "We're seeing the price of gas going down, and we're seeing new supply sources coming online throughout the state," notes Kosmont. "The combination of those things will help. Over the next two years, we'll clearly be in a higher price market; it's going to be more expensive to do business here. But in the long run, you'll see that even out. For the most part, the California economy remains strong and very attractive, so businesses are really willing to give it a chance."