More On California Electricity Regulation
This Dan Walters column from today’s Sacramento Bee puts the current debates over electricity regulation in the context of the 1996 debate. Very good read.
Clearing The Air
Run, don’t walk, to the Reason website and read this wonderful article by Joel Schwartz on air quality in the US from Regulation magazine, a superb quarterly published by the Cato Institute. In noting the disconnect between actual air quality improvement and the general perception of poor air quality, Joel observes that This disconnect between …
A New Declaration Of Independence
I am indebted to Glenn Reynolds for linking to this Ed Cone column on the foundations of liberty. It’s a wonderful, heartfelt articulation of a vision of civil society that is very compelling, and in great part is what gets me out of bed in the morning. As we celebrate the freedoms already won, let?s …
Re-regulation Bill In California Rejected
On Wednesday I mentioned the committee rejection of California AB 428, which I claim reflected a continued control and manage mindset in California regarding electriicty markets. Today we hear that the re-regulation bill, SB 888, failed to pass a Senate utility committee vote: “I don’t want to repeat what happened in ’96 when a lot …
Natural Gas Policy Update
Natural gas is back on the DC policy radar screen this week, according to this article from OIl & Gas Journal. In Senate testimony Thursday, the National Petrochemical & Refiners Association advocated removal of restrictions on domestic natural gas exploration. On the other hand, this LA Times editorial advocates conservation and removing barriers to importation …
The Federal Fuel Oxygenate Mandate Is Bad Policy
Just before the holiday I testified at a Congressional hearing in Diamond Bar, California, on the transition from MTBE to ethanol as an oxygenate in southern California’s fuel. The text of my written testimony is available at the Reason Public Policy Institute website. The hearing was called by Doug Ose (R-CA), who is the Chairman …
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California Iso Restructuring
The California ISO has been in the throes of restructuring for the past two years, and has released what is likely to be its final design proposal. The ISO board has approved this proposal. In lieu of my slapdash review of it, I attach here some comments from a very knowledgeable and insightful colleague of …
The Control And Manage Mindset Marches On In California
The California legislature has entertained a few different bills this year that would reinstate direct access for some electricity consumers. And it is quashing all of them, and choosing instead to reinstate more traditional, top-down, no-incentives-in-sight cost-based regulation (through SB 888). The latest effort to reintroduce consumer direct access is AB 428, which proposes a …
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Electricity Storage Seen Taming Volatile Prices
Electricity storage is one of the holy grails of the industry. Those who wish to continue regulating and controlling this dynamic, complex industry use the inability to store electricity cost-effectively as an argument for why electric networks have to be regulated. Of course, this argument is a canard — many things we consume are not …
The Greenest Electron
I am thrilled by this quote in an article on building energy efficient buildings: “The greenest electron is the one you never use,” said Stephen Smith, the executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, based in Knoxville, Tenn. Yes! So why are so many “environmentalists” opposed to market-based pricing of electricity? If you …