Amy,
Check this out. Looks like the whole energy crisis is a scam. I wonder if Bush is directly involved?
There is no energy crisis in California.
In case you need more evidence, check this out. In December, the lights went out in southern California, the price of electricity jumped 1000% over the previous year and the price of natural gas jumped 1000% in one week.
Power shortage? Nope. The California power grid operator reported that, just over the California border at the 'Henry Hub' gas pipeline switching centre, you could buy plentiful gas for $1 (£66p) a therm. A couple of miles down the road in California, the price was $10.
By golly, it turns out the two power merchants that controlled the biggest pipe into California simply blocked part of the tube. Result: panic, price spikes and black outs.
Market speculators made half a billion dollars on that cute little manoeuvre. In all, says last week's report by Dr Anjali Shiffren of the grid system, "monopoly rents," "economic withholding" and "physical withholding" were responsible for artificial shortages and excess charges of $6.2 billion last year - half the state's light bill.
In other words, California did not run out of energy, it ran out of supplies of government. Until two years ago, California regulated electric companies. Then Mr Davis' predecessor, a Republican governor, 'de-regulated' energy, and the state became a pricing predators' picnic.
guardian.co.uk |
