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Enron Mail |
Mark: Just wanted you to be aware per our request, Bill Paxon sent the
attached Letter to the Editor of the Wall Street Journal on behalf of AAE. We hope his political standing will enhance the chances for the paper to print it. August 9, 2000 Wall Street Journal 200 Liberty Street New York, NY 10281 Dear Editor: John Fialka and Rebecca Smith are to be congratulated for the first piece of journalism I am aware of that has attempted to explain what is really behind the energy problems in the overheated West (Deregulation Leaves Electricity Market Ripe for Manipulation by Power Firms, August 4). As this piece makes clear, these crises of capacity and delivery of electricity around the nation are doomed to continue for a simple reason: electricity is a new game, still being played under old rules. It is becoming a competitive market, but the old rules written for a government-sanctioned monopoly market haven't been updated. As a result, some old-line utilities are exploiting and even contributing to the crises with behavior that is not controlled by the old rules. As the story details, utilities can drive prices up, exacerbate the energy shortage by withholding electricity from the grid, or impede the free flow of electricity across lines they control. It's gamesmanship, very profitable and not illegal, but definitely not in the public interest. There is a very simple fix to the problem. Write new rules. Some old laws need to be repealed. Some new oversight over this interstate commodity has to be given the Federal government so that the general welfare gains some control over local profiteering. There are bills in Congress that make these fixes. But a few powerful utilities block their passage. As long as this blockade remains in effect, the industry cannot move forward to modernize itself, build new generating capacity, and streamline the way electricity moves from region to region. Some day, Congress will pass the needed legislation. Why not now? Sincerely, Bill Paxon National Chairman Americans for Affordable Electricity
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