SI
SI
discoversearch

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor.  We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community.  If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.
Pastimes : The California Energy Crisis - Information & Forum

 Public ReplyPrvt ReplyMark as Last ReadFilePrevious 10Next 10PreviousNext  
To: Sam who wrote (180)4/9/2001 12:38:04 AM
From: Tom Simpson  Read Replies (2) of 1715
 
Well well Sam....fancy running into you here :o)

A forum this is.....informative it does not seem to be.
1. This situation developed on Clinton's watch, not Bush's, and was upon us last fall while Richardson was running around still wringing his hands about gas prices in the MidWest and heating oil in New England, among other things like Wen Ho Lee. One must kind of ask why Clinton or Richardson didn't put the fear of God into FERC then while they could. Beats me.
2. My recollection of '96 deregulation was that it was at least partly driven by the fear that big business was going to drop out and bypass the then expensive utilities by directly purchasing power from lower cost market producers. That would have left consumers shouldering the utilities cost base alone, raising then perceived high rates further. Of course high is a relative term, and high then seems low now; but a glance at rates around the country kind of suggests to me that high then is still a bit high now. My bill tells me 11-13 cents per kwh whereas the rest of the country seems to range 6-10.
3. There seems to be a decided level of nonsense in all these squeals about rampant demand growth....the published data shows no such thing, not in aggregate, at least not in California. On the other hand a fair amount of production capacity does seem to have changed hands and from the way prices have popped one might look to see how much of that has been in whatever way withdrawn from the California market.

California is not an island and its not long term tenable that California rates are double those of its immediate neighbors. What does matter is where the price of a kwh is going to settle in the West......because that is what I need to know in order to decide whether to put solar panels up on my house in Mendocino county. All this political/conspiracy/ideological nonsense gets us nowhere.

Best Regards.........Tom
Report TOU ViolationShare This Post
 Public ReplyPrvt ReplyMark as Last ReadFilePrevious 10Next 10PreviousNext