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Pastimes : The California Energy Crisis - Information & Forum
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To: miraje who wrote (1011)10/30/2001 12:59:22 AM
From: Zeuspaul  Read Replies (3) of 1715
 
But, to get back on topic, I have no problem with those who deride market approach solutions to the energy problem. I do, however, strongly object to those who classify the CA fiasco as an example of the evils of capitalism and deregulation, as it was anything but that. More like a hodge podge of ill thought out rules and regs that had nothing to do with a truly deregulated electricity market at both the wholesale and retail ends of the system.

What rules and regulations? More like the lack of rules and regulations...pure capitalism at its best. If you have a necessary commodity you can name your price and get it. How much is a glass of water worth to a rich man dying of thirst?

Whether or not true deregulation would work in this environment is an open question, as it hasn't been tried in this situation,

And hopefully it won't be. The experiment exposed the pitfalls of a deregulated electric power market. This ain't the stock market with thousands of buyers and sellers. There are simply too few sellers and they can corner the market.

setting it (true dereg) up as a straw dog and then stridently bashing it as the cause of the current mess is being somewhat disingenuous, IMO.

First Coke learned its lesson and then SI...and then California. If you have a working system changing it for the sake of change or some kind of text book theory or some kind of youthful idealism or free marketism isn't the way to go. EXPERIMENTING on a grand scale with a century old regulated electric power system that had built the most powerful nation on earth is simply foolish.

Failing systems need radical surgery. Working systems need fine tuning.

Zeuspaul
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