Author name: Michael Giberson

Dot’s Airline Price Gouging Investigation and a Political Economy-based Prediction

1 Comment / Economics, Networks, Politics, Regulation / By

On Friday, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced it had launched an investigation into possible “unfair practices (e.g., price gouging) affecting air travel during the period of time that Amtrak service along the Northeast Corridor was delayed or suspended as a result of the May 12th derailment.” Five airlines received letters from the agency seeking …

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Dallas Morning News on Competitive Retail Power Market Fees and Rate Designs in Texas

Economics, Electricity, Regulation / By

At the Dallas Morning News James Osborne reports on the controversy over minimum use fees in the competitive retail power market that includes most Texas households. As discussed here at Knowledge Problem last week, retail suppliers sometimes design contract offers to be especially cheap for consumers using 1000 kWh per month. The state’s powertochoose.org website …

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Gaming the Rankings on the Texas Power to Choose Website

4 Comments / Economics, Electricity, Regulation / By

To help provide consumer information on competitive retail offers in the Texas electric power market, the Public Utility Commission of Texas maintains a website at www.powertochoose.org. Enter your zip code, click a button, and it will display the top ten (out of nearly 300) offers. Because the table shows the lowest priced offers first, with the average …

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Social Costs of Oil and Gas Leasing on Federal Lands, Carefully Considered

2 Comments / Economics, Environmental policy, Regulation / By

OVERVIEW: A report filed with the US Department of the Interior recommended that terms governing the leasing of federal land for oil and gas development be updated to reflect social costs associated with such development. While such costs may be policy relevant, I suggest social costs are smaller than the report indicates and the recommended policy …

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How Should the Blm Reflect Social Costs when Leasing Federal Lands for Oil and Gas Development?

1 Comment / Uncategorized / By

In April the U.S. Department of the Interior issued an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) seeking comments on a handful of economic issues surrounding the leasing of federal lands for oil and gas development. Most of the questions raised in the ANPR concern aspects of the “government take” – the royalty rates, minimum bids, …

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The Primary Reason for Quadrennial Gasoline Price-gouging Charges Against Marathon in Kentucky

Uncategorized / By

On May 12, 2015 Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway filed a lawsuit against Marathon Petroleum Company alleging Marathon has engaged in anti-competitive practices that cause higher gasoline prices for Kentucky consumers. In making the announcement Conway said he has tried over and over to get the Federal Trade Commission or U.S. Department of Justice interested in the case, but …

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Elementary Error Misleads Appa on Electricity Pricing in States with Retail Electric Choice

2 Comments / Electricity, Energy markets, Regulation / By

The American Public Power Association (APPA) recently published an analysis of retail power prices, but it makes an elementary mistake and gets the conclusion wrong. The APPA analysis, “2014 Retail Electric Rates in Deregulated and Regulated States,” uses U.S. Energy Information Administration data to compare retail electric prices in “deregulated” and “regulated” states. The report itself presents …

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Newsweek Cloaks Industry-funded Environmentalist’s Hit Piece

2 Comments / Uncategorized / By

First, some background On April 11, 2015, an editorial piece by Randy Simmons and Megan Hansen on the cost of wind energy was published by Newsweek. A DailyKos blogger posted the next day disputing various claims in the piece and observing Newsweek had not disclosed Simmons’s apparent oil industry connections. The day after that the …

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You Should Probably Raise Prices a Bit During Emergencies

3 Comments / Economics, Politics, Social change / By

At the Master Resource blog today: “In Defense of Price ‘Gouging’ (lines and shortages are uneconomic, discriminatory).” In the essay I emphasize the unintended bias that results when consumer demand surges and supplies are tight, as for example when winter storm forecasts lead consumers to rush to the grocery store for bread and milk. Because …

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