{"id":346104,"date":"2024-10-09T09:31:50","date_gmt":"2024-10-09T07:31:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=346104"},"modified":"2024-10-09T09:31:52","modified_gmt":"2024-10-09T07:31:52","slug":"free-market-electricity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=346104","title":{"rendered":"\u201cFree Market Electricity\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
xr:d:DAFWyUEuoD0:66,j:5066942255216636231,t:23060710<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Master Resource<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Robert Bradley Jr.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cA 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

My new AIER primer<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Forgotten<\/em> regarding the criticisms of traditional public utility regulation that emerged in the 1960s; misapplied<\/em> regarding the current mandatory open access era involving central planning at the wholesale level with ISOs\/RTOs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My major points with quotations follow:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Electricity is a free-market product with a clear free market, classical liberal meaning: the<\/em> separation of government and electricity in all phases and in the whole<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cA free market in electricity is defined as the absence of government ownership, control, or regulation. Electricity and government are separate, apart from legal protection against force or fraud. Government neutrally upholds the enforceability of private contracts and other market norms under the rule of law.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2026 contra government direction and control, from municipal ownership to franchise protection and cost-based rate ceilings (public-utility regulation); to mandatory open access for outside parties (an uncompensated taking); to renewable requirements (the forced energy substitution of wind and solar).\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cGrid electricity was never considered a common-pool resource at odds with definable private property rights and efficient operation. The \u2018commons\u2019 theory of governmental organization arose only with the government-mandated open-access transmission, itself a clear violation of private property rights.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

2.<\/strong> Electricity, while having unique qualities, is subject to market forces and does not<\/em> require government intervention or ownership. The US power sector has a clear free market history for empirical evaluation\u2014and no demonstrable market failure.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cHighly coordinated multiphase operation, evident in petroleum and natural gas (in a free market), was required by the uniqueness of electricity. Governmental franchise protection was not necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cThe market era was characterized by declining rates, expanding usage, and reliable service\u2026. Market-directed integrated operations resulted in unprecedented affordability and continuous, coordinated service.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

3. Electricity is the second-most regulated sector of the U.S. economy today, next to money and banking (outside of the military industrial complex). It is an unholy mix of public utility regulation; government-enabled dilute, intermittent wind and solar; and mandatory open access.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cToday, a growing number of regions are subject to rising power rates, conservation appeals, and service interruptions.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

4. Mandatory open access has introduced its own problems under de facto socialism, particularly pricing for reliability.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cEconomic calculation has bedeviled ISO\/RTOs\u2026. Some regions have implemented \u2018capacity charges\u2019 to reward generators for standby capacity. Others have banked on \u2018energy only\u2019 prices, betting that ample capacity would be incited by periodic price windfalls.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cConsumer welfare and \u2018the obligation to serve\u2019 have been lost in the transition to central planning, as well as in the governmental quest for decarbonization. Worse, agency errors \u2026 have been protected by sovereign immunity.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

5. Public policy going forward begins with federal deregulation of electricity (state deregulation would need to follow).<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cA 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cCompetition could entail direct rivalry with duplicate facilities, or it could be a single firm maintaining a market against potential rivals. Either way, the private and public costs of government intervention could be bypassed and market signals established.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cA 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.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":346106,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691821564,691818656,691828255,691830857,691820066],"class_list":{"0":"post-346104","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-control","9":"tag-electricity","10":"tag-free-market-2","11":"tag-ownership","12":"tag-regulation","14":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/0Free-Electricity.jpg?fit=1200%2C700&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1s2k","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":376584,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=376584","url_meta":{"origin":346104,"position":0},"title":"Subsidized Solar in Texas Perpetuates Itself (ITC, PTC need immediate elimination)","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"04\/26\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Doug Sheridan, a top energy analyst with a large social media footprint,\u00a0noted\u00a0the dirty hidden secret behind Texas\u2019s beleaguered grid.","rel":"","context":"In \"ERCOT (Electric Reliability Council of Texas)\"","block_context":{"text":"ERCOT (Electric Reliability Council of Texas)","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=ercot-electric-reliability-council-of-texas"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0texas-flag-hsqxp1byh6d1yx62.jpg?fit=1200%2C676&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0texas-flag-hsqxp1byh6d1yx62.jpg?fit=1200%2C676&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0texas-flag-hsqxp1byh6d1yx62.jpg?fit=1200%2C676&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0texas-flag-hsqxp1byh6d1yx62.jpg?fit=1200%2C676&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0texas-flag-hsqxp1byh6d1yx62.jpg?fit=1200%2C676&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":337402,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=337402","url_meta":{"origin":346104,"position":1},"title":"Project 2025 on Energy (just a start, remember)","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"07\/24\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The Heritage Foundation\u2019s\u00a0Project 2025\u00a0covers federal energy policy in some detail. 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