John,

Beyond the obvious "you *really* don't want to start a
discussion about power companies with anyone living
in California" thoughts that jumped into my head....

I think there was a grain of truth (about a 400lb grain)
in what the tech told you: there is no responsibility on
the part of the power company to provide you with
electricity in a clean and consistent form, unless you
are one of the entities who contract with them for it.
City governments and hospitals come to mind, but
I believe for the purposes of due dilligence even
they are required to provide their own backups.

Power Co's have a responsibility under fair trade laws
to charge you the regulatory body approved rates and
to investigate and resolve any disputes regarding the
amount you are charged for energy provided, but
if they don't provide you with anything (like the 3
days I went without power last December while
they tried to figure out how many transformers in
my county all needed to be replaced at the same
time), AND they don't charge you anything, they
have broken no laws or covenants.

It's crappy, but legal and above board.  Your best
bet is to be proactive in your design: install a
generator, have sufficient surge interruption on the
power main to trip the entire house ($150 for a
new circuit breaker, plus ~$1000 for installation),
grounded outlets and lighting fixtures, additional
GOOD surge supressors (like your APC UPS)
for all electronic equipment, and of course, a
litany of prayers for the well being and good
balancing skills for the young squirrels playing
in the trees in your county.

Rs~

Russ Smith
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