Granted, there are a lot of things to be angry about in the world but I am puzzled about the lack of fury here in the Pit about this outrage . Basically, you had many of the major players in the energy-trading field like Enron, Williams, Dynegy, Mirant Corp., Reliant Resources, AES Corp. and Duke conspire to take advantage of California’s ill-conceived deregulation efforts and create an energy shortage. As a result, prices unnaturally sky-rocketed, the state was plagued by sudden black-outs, and California’s economy took a hit from which the effect can still be felt nationwide.
It is true that many of the companies involved this unholy pact got their comeuppance when their scheme blew up in their faces. Still, the egregious nature of their price and supply manipulation, the unbridled arrogance exhibited by these companies, and their unmitigated lack of concern for the total impact of their actions warrants at least ten times the public rebuke they’ve received. So where is the outrage? I’d especially like to hear from California dopers since they’re the ones who experienced it firsthand.
So, corporations are supposed to not act in the interest of their shareholders when the elected legislators do not act in the interest of their constituants? They are supposed to forgo selling the juice to the higher bidder (outside of CA, on the same grid)
The “deregulation” of the California power market was the true outrage. There was no incentive to conserve energy on the demand side, so noone upped the setpoint on their A/C thermostat and noone turned off unused lights.
What the hells the matter with you, NDP! Don’t you know theres a war on! People like you make me sick, undermining true American patriots like Dynergy, Reliant and the brutally persecuted, liberal media bashed Enron! Who do you think sacrificied thier hard stolen money to ensure the victory of right thinking Americans over the “regulators”, trial lawyers, and the insidious teachers unions! Always whining and carping about the vigorous pursuit of the entreprenuerial spirit, always undermining a healthy climate for business! OK, so a few elderly ladies fried in thier apartments, but dammit man, they were old! Thier useful life as consumers was pretty much done for, anyway.
Get government off Buisiness’ back, and into its pocket where it belongs!
California basically caused this whole thing to happen by ‘deregulation’. They set up insane laws in the name of deregulation and, at the same time, basically stopped anyone from building new power plants in Cali. If a state does not have the plants to create the power they need for the state then they will have to pay a big price for the power from other places.
Sleestak, as I recall, the problem in California was not so much that there were no new power plants as many of the ones already existing were suddenly off-line for “maintenance”.
If you look at the graph that tracks ‘approved power plants’ and 'Total Megawatts of Power Plant Applications On Line by Year ’ you will find that between 1993 and 2000 the amount of power pumped into Cali by new in-state power companies and power plants is minimal. It ramped up in 1999. But it takes a year at least to get the plant up and producing power. After the power problem in Cali the number of new power plants approved in 2000 and 2001 sky rockets.
Cali, probably due to the Green Party, stopped building power plants. When the power got short Cali figured out that building power plants was a good idea.
Yeah, Sleestak. We all know the iron fist of the Green Party controls every branch of government in California.:rolleyes:
Anyway, I never disputed that California’s energy deregulation was buggy to begin with. That still doesn’t excuse Enron, Williams, et al., from doing what they did.
All this crap was going on long before the war, elucidator. The summer of 2000 had price spikes and brownouts and the whole bit. All caused by market manipulation made possible by CA’s dumb deregulation plan.
Luckily in 2000 we had Bill Clinton, champion of the little guy, to reign in these corporate assholes. I’m sorry, I’m not supposed to bring up BC because this is Bush’s fault, right? Who cares that he wasn’t President at the time.
You are at liberty to believe whatever you like Cheese. Facts remain that the energy guys, the usual band of suspects, went quite beyond the deregulation environment and screwed California blue. When California screamed bloody murder, the White House responded with ideological claptrap about letting the free market work its magic, or, in plain english, “Fuck you, California”.
The dominance of business interests in government does indeed predate Bush by at least a hundred years, and Clinton was no virgin. Be that as it may, Clinton’s coziness with the energy industry is in no way comparable to BushCo’s abject submission to same. Your sister (or mine, for that matter) may shake someones hand and call him “sir”. That is not the same as dropping to her knees and unzipping his trousers, while offering change for his dollar. To wax metaphorical.
I’m not saying the energy companies were right (they weren’t), but you couldn’t let this go by without a dig at the current administration. Bush may very well be deeper into the pockets of the energy companies, but Clinton didn’t do a damn thing to stop them either, so in reality they’re pretty much on equal terms with this issue.
BTW, has California done anything to prevent this from happening again? Since their actions made this manipulation possible, can’t their actions also stop it?
Well, to some degree, but the money is gone, so far as Enron is concerned, and the rest of the usual suspects are relying on legions of lawyers to drag this out into perpetuity, hoping to Bhopal the whole thing. They have every likelihood of success.
Which only proves the oldest adages: steal a thousand, go to prison, steal a million, go the Cancun.
Here in Massachusetts, the people were sold the same bill of goods (energy deregulation). Basically, the energy companies BOUGHT every politician in the state-the largesse included free dinners, trips to resorts, college scholarships for their kids, and jobs for their relatives. We were promised:
-lower electric rates
-freedom to choose providers
-the swift construction of cleaner, more efficient electric plants
Well, NONE of this has come to pass, electric rates have doubled and tripled, and the same old dirty powerplants are being used.
Interestingly, the electic rate (per kiowatt-hour) has gone down…but now your electric billin cludes charges for
-sunk costs (basically the utilitie’s bad investments)
-transmission line charges
-fuel surcharge
Your electric bill is now only decodable if you are an accountant. Basically, the ratepayers were swindled, and the corrupt politicians made out like bandits!