Posted on 01/26/2007 9:04:12 AM PST by WayneLusvardi
California's CPUC - C(K)eep Public Uninformed Commission
Imagine if newspaper headlines told the truth instead of serving to cover the actions of government. Consider the recent Associated Press headline and story "State Regulators Vote to Ban Utilities from Buying Dirty Power" (see here: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/01/26/america/NA-GEN-US-Dirty-Power.php).
What if this headline ran instead something like this: "STATE REGULATORS BLOCKAGE CHEAP IMPORTED POWER - VIOLATE INTERSTATE COMMERCE CLAUSE."
First of all, not all energy from coal-fired power plants is dirty. A small percentage of coal-fired power plants, including the Intermountain Power Plant which serves Los Angeles, Pasadena, Glendale, Burbank, Anaheim, and Riverside are unusually clean. The Intermountain Plant is one of the 5 cleanest coal plants in the nation as far as sulphur oxide (S02) emissions and meets all Federal and State pollution standards. But it is considered "dirty coal."
Secondly, erecting trade barriers to cheap imported electricity will raise electricity rates across the board in California; both to the absolute cost and from the competitive effect cheap coal has in lowering energy costs from natural gas fired power plants and other sources.
Next, erecting trade barriers on cheap imported coal power and shifting to green power (solar and wind power) will do nothing to lessen our dependence on foreign oil.
Any environmental benefits from this action won't accrue to California but to other states where the polluting coal power plants are located.
Under the cover of environmentalism, the provisions of the Interstate Commerce laws also appear to be violated, or at least in the spirit of the law. As one blogger reacted to the CPUC's actions:
"I think the Idaho, Oregon, Arizona, Washington and Nevada should vote not to sell any power to California that comes from hydroelectric plants. Figure out how to generate for your state's needs within the boundary of the state. Don't export your stupidity in the form of a drain on the resources of other states."
As far as the risk of blackouts, another blogger commented:
"Not only that, the peak power is going to me monstrous--it was high in 1998, dropped a bit after the blackouts of 2000-2001, and is now at all-time highs during summer months again. All ya need are a few 100+ days and you might see SCE alone sucking up 23,000-24,000 MW (current record for SCE, IIRC, is somewhere around 22,000 MW). Stage Three blackouts this summer, anyone?"
So this CPUC action begs the question, why would regulators whose supposed mission is to protect consumers from high electricity rates erect trade barriers to cheap energy? The public is left guessing at why such an irrational decision has been made by the CPUC.
Could it be that regulators are in bed with the unions, crony-green energy entrepreneurs, and politicians who are eager for symbolic vote-buying crusades to show how green they are? Or maybe the CPUC wants to hurt the out-of-state competition from cheap energy suppliers in coal-producing "Red States," even at the cost of raising electricity bills in California?
Not to worry however because the media, The Utility Reform Network (TURN), and consumer and environmental organizations aren't raising any objections to the CPUC's actions to erect an embargo on coal power and will run cover for the CPUC.
Environmentalism has become the policy of choice to cover the self-interested actions of public officials. As Nobel prize winning economist James Buchanan pointed out: "government policy emerges from a highly complex and intricate institutional structure peopled by ordinary men and women, very little different from the rest of us." Public officials have their own apparent self-interests as much at heart as anyone else, and they often promote these interests at public expense. Or as Spanish philosopher Ortega y Gasset once wrote: "Whenever there is a shortage of bakeries, the first thing people (or regulators) do is burn down the bakeries."
The acronym CPUC is seems fitting for the California Public Utilities Commission: C(K)eep the Public Uninformed Commission.
Remember when California was buying evergy anywhere they could get it?
How many clean energy plants has california built in california since then?
If California wants clean energy ,let them build it themselves , in their state.
If they wish to pollute other States with their energy needs, let them take it anyway they can get it.
California is building clean, but very expensive, energy plants. It's called "green power" - solar and wind energy plants. The problem is that it is uncompetitive. So California utility regulators are creating an apparent no-compete market for it at the expense of its consumers.
Weren't Kerry and Ed Rendell trumpeting the use of coal as a source for energy, they never said anything about clean or cirty coal as I recall at their 2004 convention?
Technologies do exist to greatly diminish the effects of both soft or hard coal.
Unfortunately, environmentalists and the whackjobs running California won't or refuse to acknowledge that as it affects their agenda.
IMO there is no way that you can ever put up enough windmills to make a dent in California's energy needs.
There isnt enough land mass to put up enough solar panels to help much either.
I believe what you are saying is that California Greens are trying to pay for these efforts by making California refuse power that doesnt come from these operations.
If so they are going to face some serious brownouts this summer.
If they want clean energy in California that will make a real difference they had better look to Nuclear power Plants. Try that in NIMBY California.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
All we need is an efficient way to capture all that CO2 and store it somewhere, and coal will rise again!
In a place like California, you would need to factor in earthquake danger to build successful nuke power plants.
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