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So are you now in awe of the powers of the Great State of Texas ?
Better be nice to us now..or else we'll destroy your local economy from 1/2 across the US.
Nothing is 1/2 across the US.. We ARE half the US!!!!!!
The California Energy Crisis of 2000 would have never happened without the semi deregulation written by the Cali CongressCritters. It was a classic case of Unintended Consequences due to an abysmal lack of knowledge about Electricity and Energy markets.
Cali deregulated the Wholesale Markets, but imposed a price Cap on the Retail sellers. The partial deregulation legislation instituted in 1996 by Governor Pete Wilson and ended up costing the State of California between $40 and $45 Billion dollars.
California law made it more profitable (and possible) for Energy companies to manipulate the market than to build/operate power plants. California already had a weak energy infrastructure - this was a recipe for disaster from the beginning.
Energy policy and delivery is complicated for most folks - those that know little about it have absolutely no business trying to "regulate" it. Take a good look at what happened in California in 2000-2001 and then take a look at what the US Energy Department and the EPA are doing today with their new "regulations". They don't seem to understand that Electricity can't be stored - it's point of sale at the going rate ..... or do without.
In nearly all electricity markets, demand is difficult to forecast and is almost completely insensitive to price fluctuations, while supply faces binding constraints at peak times, and storage is prohibitively costly.
Under new regulation rules from the EPA, power plants are shutting down in the Eastern part of the USA - the EPA is convinced that the lack of this power generation won't effect the power grid at all. California was convinced that their Partial DeRegulation would lower energy costs.
Combine the Maximum Achievable Control Technology Rule (MACT rule) with the July 2011 Cross State Transport Rule ..... we have a lot of trouble and high prices coming our way. SOON The new Cross State Transport rule kicks in on January 1, 2012 ..... pretty fast (impossible) compliance period.
I'm not a giant fan of Carbon based fuels and energy, I want cleaner fuels and energy - at least I understand enough to know that you can't force unreliable technology by removing the technology we depend on now. The EPA and Oministration doesn't "get" that.
It is true. I am the Texan that started our economic downfall.
How well I remember! It was a chilly evening, in March of ought-seven. I was having my third glass of Lone Star beer in a honky-tonk located off Jacksboro Highway. Then, SHE walked in, beautiful, yet a hot breeze from Hell followed her.
Yada, yada yada.
Anyone, the penicillin shot did good for me, but Enron collapsed within weeks.
Well since Bush was prez and from Texas and now that Rick Perry put his hat in the libs have blamed about everything on Texas. Only thing I hate from Texas are the Cowboys. Always have always will!!!
Well since Bush was prez and from Texas and now that Rick Perry put his hat in the libs have blamed about everything on Texas. Only thing I hate from Texas are the Cowboys. Always have always will!!!
So I think between this thread and the other we can diagnose the problems of California. It wasn't the years of liberalism with politicians like Feinstein, Boxer, Pelosi, Willie Brown, Moonbeam Brown, etc. It wasn't the combo of having a high state income tax & high sales tax. It wasn't such crazy regulation that manufacturers had to have special California models of their products.
No it was a) Bush did it; b)Texas did it; c) prop 13, passed back in 1978 by anti-tax RW
ers caused big time problems that have kicked in just in the last decade or so.
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