Knowledge Problem

Op-ed Urges Michigan Not to Reregulate Retail Electric Power

In this morning’s Detroit News appears an op-ed about a utility-supported proposal in the Michigan legislature that would dramatically limit and perhaps extinguish the state’s sixteen year old effort allowing retail choice in electric power. The introduction: Do Michigan consumers want to go forward or backward in reducing their electric bills and modernizing the state’s

Michael Giberson October 26, 2016 No Comments

Baseload Electric Generating Capacity is Exciting…

Baseload electric generating capacity is exciting… wait, no … baseload capacity is exiting areas served by regional wholesale power markets, and the owners of these assets and some state policymakers are anxious to solve what they imagine to be a problem. Utility Dive has a good story on the topic, “Re-regulation on the horizon? State plant

Michael Giberson October 25, 2016 No Comments

Blm Rejects Environmentalist Offer to Buy and Hold Federal Oil and Gas Leases

In February 2016, Utah environmentalist and author Terry Tempest Williams offered to purchase two federal oil and gas leases on property near her home in Southern Utah. Her intention, as stated in a column later appearing in the New York Times, was to keep the resources in the ground “until science finds a way to

Michael Giberson October 20, 2016 2 Comments

What Energy Policies Ought Conservatives Favor–a Good Example of Bad Policy Analysis

An opinion piece at MarketWatch makes a bundle of analytical mistakes as it tries to build the case that persons with conservative political views should prefer the energy policy views of Hillary Clinton over those of Donald Trump. In this case I read the “Clinton” and “Trump” names as a kind of stand-in or representative for

Michael Giberson October 17, 2016 2 Comments

Trump and Clinton on Energy Policy During the Second Presidential Debate

From the transcript posted by PolitiFact, the exchange on energy issues from the October 9 debate between Donald J. Trump and Hillary Clinton: COOPER: We have one more question from Ken Bone about energy policy. Ken? QUESTION: What steps will your energy policy take to meet our energy needs, while at the same time remaining

Michael Giberson October 10, 2016 No Comments

On Trump’s Energy Policy: Big Players Are Bad News for Energy Policy

My commentary, “Trump’s policy may undermine pro-growth intentions,” appears in the October 2016 issue of Nature Energy. Here is one of my favorite parts: Trump’s emphasis on energy independence, in North Dakota and elsewhere, has been common among both Republicans and Democrats. President Richard Nixon declared energy independence a priority in an effort to blame the Organization

Michael Giberson October 6, 2016 No Comments

Apple’s Jack and Incumbent Vertical Market Power

Apple’s controversial decision to remove the universal 3.5mm audio jack from its just-released iPhone 7 has several economic dimensions. All of them are a consequence of Apple’s proprietary architecture (colloquially known as “Steve’s walled garden”) and the extent to which Apple is trying to/able to exercise incumbent vertical market power. How much market power

Lynne Kiesling September 14, 2016 5 Comments

House Energy and Power Subcommittee Takes a Look at the Federal Power Act; One Small Suggestion for Reform

As had been announced in June of this year, the Energy and Power subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives is devoting some time to a deep look into the Federal Power Act (FPA). At the time of the June announcement the committee sent a letter to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) saying: As you know, the

Michael Giberson September 12, 2016 No Comments

Pharmaceuticals and Multi-layered Government-granted Monopoly

Mylan’s price increase of the EpiPen in late August has caused consternation and a lot of debate about the reasons why Mylan has been able to increase the EpiPen price so dramatically above its production cost. Don’t forget that production cost includes the time and resources that comprise FDA compliance costs, even for generics like

Lynne Kiesling September 9, 2016 No Comments

Planet Money Buys Oil, Loses About $800 on the Deal, and Makes Some Great Podcast Journalism

The NPR economics podcast Planet Money offers a great five-part introduction to the oil business and the place it plays in our economy. Along the way they offer insights into prices and market processes, innovation and industry change, and the many uses of fossil energy. The five part series does not go deep, but the reporters do cover the

Michael Giberson August 25, 2016 No Comments

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