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To: stomper who wrote (8127)	4/8/2001 3:19:41 PM
From: Roger A. Babb	Respond to of 19633

Dave, I have not yet gone long ELON. (Did short it once, but covered way too early) The ELON system for controlling home and business energy use devices via Internet based on hourly price signals is clearly a valuable resource during energy shortages. But unfortunately the USA power infrastructure is too stupid to use such technology. Here is an example: When power is short in California, they go to rotating blackouts. In an area, everything goes black. Redlights, lifesupport systems, everything. Really stupid way to ration power, no different from the practice in 1920. The logical way to ration power would be hourly pricing. Just send a high price out during shortages. In a "smart home", my ELON system would detect the high price and then follow my pre-programmed instructions. Maybe something like this: 1. Turn off water heater and dishwasher at 12 cents. 2. Turn off HVAC at 15 cents. 3. Reduce lighting at 20 cents. 4. Continue to operate refrigerator, alarm system, and computer at any price. But the big energy companies won't allow this. They do not want consumers to be able to respond to the high prices, it gives the consumers the ability to "opt out" when being over charged. Thus while I believe that ELON has a great technology that consumers would find very valuable, I do not believe that implementation will be allowed in the USA, at least not under the Bush energy policy.