On Fri, 29 Dec 2000, James A. Donald wrote:
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For those who care, take a look at http://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/10/opinion/10KRUG.html which is an op-ed piece by an MIT Economics prof. describing the California situation in the same terms I have. He cites a paper which in turn cites evidence that artificial shortages were previously created in the UK (1996) and California (1998 & 1999). unfortunately no detail, but it is more than just random conspiracy theory.
He describes the california system as "deregulated", but the fact that it takes many years to get permission to build a power plant -- that it takes longer to get permits than to actually build one, is undoubtedly a contributing factor to the crisis.
Odd. If it's "deregulated", why do the power companies have to ask CPUC's permission to raise rates? I don't think "deregulated" means what he thinks it means. Bear