“Free Market Electricity”
By Robert Bradley Jr. -- October 8, 2024“A free market in electricity would terminate the current provisions of landmark federal statutes, such as the Power Act of 1935, Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935, Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978, Energy Policy Act of 1992, Energy Policy Act of 1995, and Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.”
My new AIER primer defines and applies the free-market classical liberal worldview to electricity. This is particularly important because this sound perspective has been both forgotten and misapplied.
Forgotten regarding the criticisms of traditional public utility regulation that emerged in the 1960s; misapplied regarding the current mandatory open access era involving central planning at the wholesale level with ISOs/RTOs.
My major points with quotations follow:
1. Electricity is a free-market product with a clear free market, classical liberal meaning: the separation of government and electricity in all phases and in the whole.…
Continue ReadingLynne Kiesling: All in with the ‘Virtual Power Plant’ (Biden/Harris policy vs. free markets)
By Robert Bradley Jr. -- October 7, 2024“The ‘virtual power plant’ is the end-state of electricity interventionism, where government-subsidized wind, solar, and batteries–and in-home regulated (rationed) electricity use, via ‘smart meters’–replace consumer choice and taxpayer neutrality in a free marketplace.”
Lynne Kiesling has long sold herself as a freedom-loving classical liberal. Except she is the opposite when it comes to her specialty, electricity markets. This social media post is illustrative.
The “virtual power plant” is the end-state of electricity interventionism, where government-subsidized wind, solar, and batteries–and in-home regulated (rationed) electricity-use, via “smart meters”–replace consumer choice and taxpayer neutrality in a free marketplace.
Tomorrow’s post, “Free Market Electricity,” will outline the worldview of the missing-in-action alternative to Kiesling’s politically correct statism.
Appendix A: Critical Posts on Kiesling and Electricity
Electricity Statism Conference: Kiesling Rides High (June 25, 2024)
The Great Texas Blackout of 2021: Triumph of the Unreliables (February 20, 2024)
Continue Reading“Affordable, Reliable and Clean Energy Security Act” (ALEC blueprint for state legislatures)
By Robert Bradley Jr. -- October 4, 2024“The updated definition of ‘green energy’ will apply to all programs in the state that fund any ‘green energy’ or ‘clean energy’ initiatives.”
The Affordable, Reliable and Clean Energy Security Act of the American Legislative Exchange Council has just been released. ALEC model legislation, considered conservative (Republican vs. Progressive), is important for state legislatures as they debate various issues.
The short (365 word) model act follows:
… Continue ReadingEnergy Security is paramount to economic growth. Energy Security that is Affordable, Reliable, and Clean leads to prosperity for our families and communities. Therefore, the following Energy Security-ARC is proposed as a common sense energy agenda for the future.
Section 1. Energy Security
Domestic Production: The fuel source must be primarily produced domestically within the United States.
Infrastructure Security: The infrastructure necessary to deliver energy to the customer should minimize reliance on foreign nations for critical materials or manufacturing.