Nationwide power plan criticized California,other states quickly decry energy-deregulation scheme

http://sfgate.com ^ | Thursday, August 1, 2002 | Mark Martin, Chronicle Sacramento Bureau

[It'salmosttolate]

Federal energy regulators proposed Wednesday to deregulate electricity nationwide and carve the country into regional energy markets, prompting an outcry from officials in California and other states, who said the move could give Washington bureaucrats control over consumers' power bills.

[It'salmosttolate]

Also see:
FERC wants conversion to national power grid
Trying to revive competitive electricity markets after the debacle in California, federal regulators Wednesday
proposed sweeping changes to speed the creation of a national power grid and encourage investment in new
transmission lines and generating plants. . That's the FEDERAL ENERGY REGLATORY COMMISSION take over of the private Energy industry-- that's one more step to COMMUNISIUM.

[coloradan]

Federal energy regulators proposed Wednesday to deregulate electricity nationwide and carve the country into regional energy markets, prompting an outcry from officials in California and other states, who said the move could give Washington bureaucrats control over consumers' power bills.

Orwellian language alert: if it were truly deregulation, then Washington would have less power and control, not more. Of course, outright lying is the bread and butter of this sort of "journalism."

[It'salmosttolate]

GOOD Orwellian catch.

George Orwell
George Orwell was born in Motihari, Bengal, India, as the second child of Richard Walmesley Blair and Ida Mabel Limonzin.

1984 -- was it a science fiction OR an ACTUAL PLAN for the future??????

[Dog Gone]

Quit swallowing the liberal lies. FERC is moving toward open markets, and it's fascists like Gray Davis who oppose it.

These are complaints from liberal state bureaucrats who want to retain their political power.

It's hardly a takeover of the private energy industry. They support FERC's plan, if you'd take the time to read the story you posted.

[RJayneJ]

Essay Of The Week

Quote of the Day by by Libloather

[It'salmosttolate]

"open markets" is NOT Gov't control.

You should have chosen the screen name George Orwell.

[Dog Gone]

Get real. The electricity market has had federal control for years. Do you think FERC is a new creation?

FERC will oversee the deregulation. It is not taking any new powers. It oversees the markets and industry right now.

You should have chosen the screen name Duped By Liberals.

[max61]

FERC will oversee the deregulation. It is not taking any new powers. It oversees the markets and industry right now.

One more step towards fascism. History has shown that any time the Feds talk of "deregulation", they really mean consolidation.

And the last thing this nation needs is federal bureaucrats controlling the power infrastructure in the nation, it'' wind up being just like the ATC system of the nation, a complete clusterf*ck.

---max

[Dog Gone]

Nonsense. Look at the deregulation of the airline and telephone industry. You now have more choices and lower costs.

This isn't about the Feds controlling the power infrastructure. It's about opening the market to competition.

[Robert357]

"What happens in the Northwest affects California and vice versa," said Jan Smutny-Jones, spokesman for the Independent Energy Producers. "California imports 20 percent of its power. It's already an interstate system."

I have mixed feelings. First, I really, really believe in degregulation and can provide lost of first hand stories about why FERC needs to get many utilities to change their ways. Second, FERC is trying to get utilities to cooperate and perform a more "economically optimal" dispatch of generation. There are a bunch of utilities that are reluctant to rely upon other utilties and feel that their ability to argue for higher rates would be reduced if they bought from a market.

On the otherhand, some things aren't handled well by markets. Specifically, when one is facing potential blackouts, panic buying sets into a market and the price response among sellers and buyers is not rational. If you have any questions about that, review the power crisis and blackouts of 2000 and 2001. That is the real "market-based" problem that FERC has to struggle with and that is where the price cap issue comes into play. I think that FERC needs to work a bit more on this issue, but I also think that many many utilities need to change the way they do business and that FERC is right in trying to force that change.

[Dog Gone]

On the otherhand, some things aren't handled well by markets.

Your example is from the dysfunctional California market which wasn't deregulated, despite what may have been good intentions by the lawmakers. Loretta Lynch's argument above is that since California screwed up, nobody else should attempt to do it right.

I don't buy that.

[Free the USA]

Index Bump

[Robert357]

I don't buy that.

I don't buy it either. As I said, I do favor using the market pricing concepts up until we get in a blackout situation or are about to be there. At that point government steps in and destroys the market by saying these people are not allowed to have electricity and these other folks are allowed to have electricity because they have some public safety reason for not being cut off. At that moment, there is no free market and FERC coming in with a price cap or something is a reasonable thing to do.

I completely agree with you that just because California screwed things up, is not a reason to go forward with deregulation. It is a reason to get whatever lessons learned we can from California and carefully figure out what needs to be done at that point in time when folks start panic buying of electricity and government jumps in and says no "you can not have electricity, but this other guy can (if he pays enough for it."