Ah, who to believe? Ah, who cares?

---------------------------

CATO Daily Dispatch July 19, 2001

California's Energy... Surplus?

Under the headline "California's New Problem: Sudden Surplus of Energy," The New York Times reports in its front page that after months of warnings about power shortages and forced blackouts, an unusually cool July and surprisingly effective conservation efforts have put California in a stunning position: It has so much electricity on its hands that it is selling its surplus into a glutted market.

In fact, state officials said today, after spending much of the winter and spring scrambling to line up new supplies of electricity at a cost of tens of billions of dollars, the agency that is in charge of buying power has actually been selling some back at a loss this week.

In "Just Say 'No' to the Energy Plan," Director of Natural Resources Studies Jerry Taylor predicted an energy glut for California. "Without the guidance of a 'comprehensive national energy strategy,' investors are currently pouring billions into the energy sector," Taylor wrote. "For instance, we're currently in the midst of a power-plant construction boom, with some 90,000 megawatts of new electricity capacity scheduled to come on line by 2002 and a staggering 150,000-200,000 megawatts by 2004. This will not only burst the electricity-price bubble but will probably produce an electricity glut in the near future."

-- Lars (larsguy@yahoo.com), July 21, 2001

Answers

Just Say "No" to the Energy Plan, Jerry Taylor

-- Lars (larsguy@yahoo.com), July 21, 2001.