Giberson: “I’ve seen a lot of mention of high electric power prices lately. Some blame wind and solar energy, others are blaming retail customer choice (i.e. “restructuring” or less accurately “deregulation”). Mostly it appears the analysts do not take inflation into account. Real retail prices of electricity in the US are on average about where they were a decade ago, and below the recent peak in 2008.”
Bradley: But what about US and state taxpayers footing part of the bill for the duplication of Texas generation? Factor that in and the price spikes when renewables fail and a wounded gas-and-coal industry is left.
And don’t forget–electricity policy reform is not only regulatory restructuring/re-regulation as eliminating the franchise and rate regulation for utilities. A real free market….
Bradley: This study needs to be redone with some of the comments I made above, starting with hassle costs from the whole switchover (which were not reflected in price) and the total costs of wind/solar/batteries not reflected in rates (born by US taxpayers).…
Ed. note: Jim Clarkson, an energy consultant and principled libertarian, is a veteran of gas and electric politics in South Carolina and other southeastern states. Clarkson has been a thorn in the side of cronyism between the utilities and their regulators for several decades. His previous posts can be found here, including “The Ratepayer’s Prayer“.
Six years ago, I sought advice about the prospects of my getting on the South Carolina Public Service Commission. It didn’t sound promising; nonetheless, considering myself familiar with state utility regulation, and having different ideas how it should be conducted, I gave it a shot. Here’s my story, beginning with some background.
In South Carolina there are seven U.S. congressional seats, and the General Assembly appoints a commissioner from each district for five-year staggered terms.…
“It is now time for DOI and BLM to prove their worth, and whether they are truly working in the public interest, or merely pandering to the Lower-48 radical environmental elite … trying to shut down the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) … [and] Alaska.” ( – U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan, below)
Termite aspirations. That term from Ayn Rand toward the enemies of modern living and human betterment is applicable to many energy issues today. One of the most recent examples regards the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, which since 1977 has been transporting crude oil from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez (800 miles) for tanker shipment to markets. Today, TAPS averages about 450,000 barrels of crude oil per day, accounting for 3.5 percent of U.S. production.
Petition to Close
This June, these environmental groups filed a legal petition to the U.S.…