I'd hate to say "I told you so," since I mentioned this fact a long time ago, but here's the actual evidence that Enron gouged California; and if there was ever a need to see Dick Cheney's energy policy papers that he crafted with Kenneth Lay, this is it.
http://money.cnn.com/2004/06/03/news/midcaps/enron.reut/index.htm
But I hate to say something else prophetic, but I will: Californians, your president likely encouraged this gouging, as private industries have long wanted higher energy prices, as regulated prices are unprofitable, and that's why he's crying "executive privilege." If I were you, I'd demand those energy papers. "Executive privilege" is for monarchies and dictatorships, not a representative democratic government.
I'd also look suspiciously at oil costs. Bush, when prices were very low in the late 1990s, said that he'd like to see prices higher, and I should mention that his administration has actively promoted those higher prices by buying lots of oil for those "strategic reserves," maintaining the frenzied stockpiling even during high oil prices. I have my doubts about his true intentions.
But I'm just some cynical "liberal." What do I know?
Melon
http://money.cnn.com/2004/06/03/news/midcaps/enron.reut/index.htm
Enron Corp. traders gloated about manipulating West Coast energy markets during the California electricity crisis in 2000-2001, according to telephone transcripts filed with federal energy regulators by a small public utility district in Washington state.
The Snohomish County Public Utility District near Seattle filed the transcripts at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in connection with efforts to recover millions of dollars for rigged electricity costs.
Utility officials said Wednesday the transcripts, which are spiked with profanities, "provide definitive evidence" that Houston-based Enron artificially congested West Coast transmission lines to reap profits in the electricity market.
They also suggest that Enron's top executives, including Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling, were aware of illegal gaming of the power market, the utility district said.
But I hate to say something else prophetic, but I will: Californians, your president likely encouraged this gouging, as private industries have long wanted higher energy prices, as regulated prices are unprofitable, and that's why he's crying "executive privilege." If I were you, I'd demand those energy papers. "Executive privilege" is for monarchies and dictatorships, not a representative democratic government.
I'd also look suspiciously at oil costs. Bush, when prices were very low in the late 1990s, said that he'd like to see prices higher, and I should mention that his administration has actively promoted those higher prices by buying lots of oil for those "strategic reserves," maintaining the frenzied stockpiling even during high oil prices. I have my doubts about his true intentions.
But I'm just some cynical "liberal." What do I know?
Melon
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