“A band of desperate terrorists has taken over the PSC building and is holding the entire staff and all the commissioners as hostages.  The dastardly fiends are threatening to release one regulator every hour until their demands are met.”

Jim Clarkson (above) has a sense of humor (also see his “The Ratepayer’s Prayer). Remaining light-hearted is necessary when regulation-protected utilities take advantage of ratepayers every kilowatt hour of every day. For Clarkson is a a friend of free markets and thus ratepayers. [1]

Clarkson, founder and president of Resource Supply Management, publishes a monthly Georgia Regulatory Update. Clarkson’s fare mixes the inevitable bad news of current events with short explanations why markets protect ratepayers better than bureaucrats and politicians.

A major ongoing saga involves Georgia Power Company (Southern Company) and Vogtle Nuclear Plants #3 and #4, which is still in construction.…

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.…

The familiar complaint of market failure by critics of decentralized (nongovernmental) decision-making must be coupled with realistic discussion about any government “solution.” This is why market failure must be considered alongside two other failures:

• Analytic failure, which can range  anywhere from intellectual error to the fatal conceit to emotional bias, and
• Government failure, the gap between theory and practice, wishes and result.

Intellectuals, practitioners, regulators, and the public far too often resort to see-a-problem, pass-a-law rather than:

1. Making sure what is seen as a problem is really negative;
2. Making sure that the undesired situation did not result form prior government involvement in whole or part; and
3. Assessing whether the (coercive) solution is greater than the problem, which would leave civil society (media, foundations, public opinion) to right the wrongs.

Ed note: The evolution of the Institute for Energy Research (IER), from a part-time to a full-time organization, is recounted below. (The earlier history of IER can be found here, here, and here. ) From inception, the institute has been a classical-liberal organization in favor of economic freedom–and thus consumers and taxpayers. In this regard, Wiki’s (erroneous) entry on IER is rebutted here.

In its 36th year, the Institute for Energy Research (IER) has a proud history that rebuts the erroneous ad hominem arguments hurled against its principles and principals. Ever since its humble beginnings, IER’s rock-solid research into the economics, political economy, philosophy, and history of energy markets have stood the test of time. Energy markets need to be free of, not controlled by, government—for human betterment and individual justice.…