Posted on 04/20/2003 2:50:53 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
Edited on 04/12/2004 5:50:37 PM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
You know things are a little crazy when consumer groups are pining for the return of monopolies.
But that's the shape of energy politics in California today. Democrats in the Legislature and their activist allies are longing to reestablish the monopoly utilities as the sole providers of electricity in the state.
(Excerpt) Read more at sacbee.com ...
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California deliberately screwed it up so that the Socialists could seize control!
Er, so to speak.
Here's a fresh, hot clue for the synaptically-challenged in the once-Golden State: simply bar speculation on the part of any power provider. Let 'em hedge costs and production any way they like, but no Texas hedges, no swingbacks, no retransmissions to game the system. In short order, the efficient power providers will capture the market, the inefficient will be out of business and get nice crony jobs in Sacramento, and everyone will be happy until the Assembly is back in session.
Why, who knows, someone may even come up with actual incentives for people or companies to provide more power.
Naaahh, not in the PR of Calbania. Sorry, was just deaming idly...
And in humid climate like Houston that has to be chunk of change!
Actually, the reason that California attempted to restructure it's electricity market was that electricity there was selling for 50% more that the rest of America.
The reason for that (primarily) was the massive cost overrun at the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant caused by the intervenors. They wanted DCPP shut down, but didn't want to pay for the alternatives.
These days, the envirals have insisted that plant emissions in California be 10% or less of the rest of America. They don't want to pay for that, either.
Then, of course, the state if infested with NIMBYS and BANANAS who make building power plants in the state prohibitively expensive.
And when the power has to be imported from elsewhere, everyone screams "Energy Pirates Are Gouging Us!!!".
What I am trying to say is that monopolies that have worked well in the more rational parts of the country do not work in California for the simple reason that the morons there want something for nothing.
They think they can vote themselves clean, abundant, reliable, almost-free electricity. They can't.
Sadly, it was a Republican that came up with the brilliant deregulation legislation. Brulte authored it, and Wilson signed it.
The point was not about 'Rats or Pubbies (or RINOs, in Wilson's case), but was about the laughability of the same class of idiots having another go at their state's totally self-induced 'crisis'. Oh, they've changed the faces in the Assembly since Plan One, you say? Yawn. Big difference.
I don't care which party authors the next (haha) 'plan'; they'll get it wildly wrong again, for a number of reasons, chief among them being that political types simply refuse to understand the nature of energy mkts. When supply is ample (or supply/demand are in 'balance' if you prefer), absolutely anyone can manage a broad energy market; pick a bright kid from the sixth grade -- he'll do just fine and you'll save on salaries. When supply is NOT ample, however, you'd damned well better have someone in charge who knows what's what, and what to do about it, and how, and P-D-freakin-Q. And they didn't. Not even close.
I should have been more ruthless -- WAY more ruthless -- trading energy in 2000-2001 with those dipsticks at ISO. Unfortunately, I still held the naive belief at that time that it wasn't sporting to shoot at sitting ducks, and it wasn't nice to take candy from babies. Great bloody h*ll, I could have(still can, if they're stupid enough to reinstitute a similar scheme) taken any reasonably sane adult human and teach him or her in well under a day how to profit (quite legally) from that lunatic so-called deregulation scheme. There's not a doubt in the world that there were thousands of other traders who could have done and did do the same, probably even more effectively in most cases.
The only thing that's at all surprising is that the really sizeable traders didn't take Calbania to the cleaners WELL BEFORE they did. Sheesh, can you even imagine a 'system' that treats electric power as (effectively) infinitely fungible regardless of time and location? That's whatcha had, m'friend. Can't WAIT to see Plan Two!
The liberal's idea of utopia--everyone is equally MISERABLE.
Appreciate your knowledgable comments.
There was an item on Calpine here recently.
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