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Pastimes : The California Energy Crisis - Information & Forum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Raymond Duray who wrote (1093)	2/16/2002 12:58:56 PM
From: portage	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1715

Hi Raymond. The place we need to get to is beyond the simple platitudes of "regulation is inefficient" and "deregulation is an invitation for manipulation". Often the truth is somewhere in between, and just because dereg works in one industry doesn't mean it can work the same way in others that have barriers to entry, possibility of oligopoly market power, and severe consequences if something goes wrong unexpectedly. This guy's article you posted points out some of those complexities in a way that should have been thought about all along. Now that many of the energy marketers have been discredited here for what they are, we're moving on to the next, very important battle - PG&E trying to weasel out of state oversight through its bankruptcy proceedings. The line workers at PG&E are great, but the top management there is a den of thieves. The same guy, company head Glynn, who said they would take the hit under dereg if things went bad, just as they'd take the surplus under fixed pricing the first few years when they went well, is now trying to move all assets to the ring fenced parent, and jack up our rates even more to pay off creditors. Remember, this is the guy who doubled his salary to stay on while overseeing the mess, then gave more millions in bonuses to the top guys just before declaring bankruptcy. Meanwhile, he wants to maintain all dividends and is no doubt anticipating his stock price soaring again, while planning to transfer hydro, land, and power plant assets (that should belong to California rate payers who paid for them) to the parent company. Then, they'll quickly sell them off to mow down the timber and build golf courses and condos, and allow new marketers to control power plants, etc. Of course, they say they won't do this, but the lying is so routine in these matters by these people, and there are absolutely no consequences if they did so after control is removed from the state PUC. A Dick Cheney wet dream. Luckily, the bankruptcy judge is reluctant to ignore some 30 state laws just to get them out of bankruptcy according to their plan, and is listening to the PUC's very sensible alternative plan. We have already learned not to trust the feds with our power provision, especially under Bush, but it is key that this judge not allow this PG&E plan to go forward. This is THE most important power decision in the state this year, and will set the tone for the long run. TURN has more info. on this outrageous PG&E plan, called - "Highway Robbery" Unmasking the PG&E Bankruptcy Plan's Costs to Consumers turn.org