Deregulation hasn't cut Ohioans' energy bills

[okieinpain]

http://www.cleveland.com/business/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/business/1072089173136291.xml


"Ohio's lawmakers and energy policymakers once thought free-market competition would drive down electric rates as independent generating companies and power brokers competed against utilities for residential and commercial customers."

"And the promised deep discounts for residential and small commercial users who signed up with alternative suppliers have not materialized for most customers. In fact, commercial customers of FirstEnergy still pay some of the highest rates in the country. "

"Experts say the failure of California's wildly ambitious deregulation plan and the collapse of Enron Corp. helped thwart the growth of a national wholesale market as a source of electricity for power marketers. "

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

1. Privatization of energy in Brazil

Prices skyrocketed, service started to suck, energy shortage. The works.

Telecom privatization, on the other hand, went rather well. Goes to show the world ain't B&W.

[Enraged_Ape]

2. When will people finally get a clue about deregulation?

"Deregulation" needs to be in the same category as other terms that send people screaming into the night--like "brain cancer", "tax audit", and "Yog-Sothoth".

[MisterP]

3. good thing I wasn't drinking when I read that

[The Backlash Cometh]

17. Can I use that as my sig?

*

[Tempest]

4. Same thing happened in Montana

After deregulation, the price of energy more than quadrupled in some areas of the state (Helena for one).

[mbperrin]

14. Same in Texas. Our use is down 5%, but bill is up 40%!

Good thing they took energy and food out of the CPI, eh? That way, no inflation! Magic!

[Ready4Change]

5. It was never MEANT to cut energy bills.

That's just the lies used to sell it to voters.

Tell people you'll save them money and they'll let you cut their hands off.

[KittyWampus]

6. There Must Be Some Way For Energy DeRegulation To Work

but it seems that those in power aren't interested in mutually beneficial economic arrangements. :(

[aquart]

10. How could it work?

Adding in a middleman doesn't cut the price. Ever. It adds a layer of expense.

Also, there is zero incentive not to gouge. Ask California.

Energy is too important to any nation's survival to be in private hands. How many businesses have gone under because of these outrageous energy costs?

It's time we decided what America is for. Someone once said "The business of America is business." That's fine. But what is the point of the business? What's the business --busyness--we keep busy--it's what we do--for? WHAT DO WE DO IT ALL FOR? That's the question nobody wants to face.

Is the point of American business to make some extremely rich at the cost of our water, air, land, and people? Is it?

[SharonAnn]

19. Umm, it was a businessman who said "the business of America

is business".

Maybe we should set that aside and go back to the Constitution. I don't believe it says anything specific about business.

[Mountainman]

16. They don't believe in competition.

If you deregulate a necessity, all you have to do is reduce the number of suppliers and the cost of the necessity can artificially go up.

We deregulate energy, allow energy companies to gain a monopoly in an area and you get Enron. Instead of more suppliers competing for the market the opposite happens. The small supplier can not economically compete so he sells out to the larger ones.

[wryter2000]

7. Good grief

I have a bridge I'd like to sell them. Degregulation of power is a license to steal, nothing more.

[aquart]

8. The "experts" are liars or fools.

Deregulation is a license to steal. It was never anything else.

And no honest government would ever have anything to do with it.

[mbperrin]

9. Same in Texas! Our energy use is down 5%,

bill total up 45%!

Good thing they took energy and food out of the CPI, eh? That way there ain't no inflation!

[daleo]

11. A disaster in Alberta

Unless you owned a power company.

[classics]

12. In Cleveland the cost of power doubled overnight.

And it continues to rise. Deregulation has turned a basic urban need, electricity, into a disgusting corporate shell game.

People go door to door here now doing high-pressure sales of electricity contracts. Many people sign them without ever being told what the cost is, and lets be honest, many people couldnt tell a kilowatt hour from a potato even if they knew.

Lets not forget that First Energy was the company also responsible for the huge blackout across the midwest this year. They still claim they didnt cause it, but living less than a mile from the auto plant where it happened, I know many employees of that plant who know exactly what happened.

[MetaTrope]

15. Yeah, it's funny how the article doesn't mention the August blackout

viz, http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/11/19/blackout.hearing.ap/

The report found four violations of industry reliability standards by FirstEnergy and another violation by the Midwestern Independent System Operator.

The FirstEnergy violations included not reacting to a power line failure within 30 minutes as required by the North American Electricity Reliability Council, not notifying nearby systems of the problems, failing to analyze what was going on and inadequate operator training.

Thank God for deregulation!

[alarimer]

13. Same thing here

In Texas, my rates are the highest they have ever been. $70 a month for a one-bedroom apartment in the winter (when I hardly have to run the heater) to $130 in summer with the a/c. We were all sold a bill of goods that deregulation would lead to lower prices. It has not; it has led to higher prices. There may be other reasons the rates are higher now but they are definitely not lower.

[SharonAnn]

18. It hasn't decreased anybody's bills. It has, however, increased

them - sometimes significantly.

It's beena godsend to the utility companies who can now rape and pillage all they want. They were so hamstrung before when they were regulated and had to run a legitimate business.

[Jack Rabbit]

20. Hey, Ohio! Do you want to know how deregulation works?

Talk to us here in California. We'll tell you all about it.