EDITORIAL POWER ON THE ENERGY CRISIS COOLS OFF - FOR THE TIME BEING.THROUGH no doing of his own, Gov. Gray Davis finds himself enjoying a brief reprieve reprieve (rĭprēv`): in law, see pardon. from the state energy crisis. Just as it took the perfect combination of events - a bad deregulation Deregulation The reduction or elimination of government power in a particular industry, usually enacted to create more competition within the industry. Notes: Traditional areas that have been deregulated are the telephone and airline industries. plan, a dry season in the Pacific Northwest, hot weather and Davis' paralysis - to spark the crisis, a serendipitous ser·en·dip·i·ty n. pl. ser·en·dip·i·ties 1. The faculty of making fortunate discoveries by accident. 2. The fact or occurrence of such discoveries. 3. An instance of making such a discovery. combination of events has now lessened it. In the last month, energy consumption has gone down, as has the price of natural gas, temperatures have been mild and the Northwest has enjoyed a better than average spring runoff Runoff The procedure of printing the end-of-day prices for every stock on an exchange onto ticker tape. Notes: If the "tape is late" then it can take a long time to print off all the closing prices. in its rivers. The result is that energy supply has been able to catch up with demand, causing prices to go down to almost pre-crisis levels. Unfortunately, there's no guarantee that the good times will hold out - especially if the summer is especially hot. More rolling blackouts could soon be on their way and budget-busting energy prices could further wipe out the treasury. So Davis isn't off the hook just yet. But the recent trend does point to the way out of this mess. Consumption has gone down in part because of a mild May, but also because the state finally raised energy rates. And the increased supply, although a purely natural phenomenon, has also helped to offset prices. All of which goes to show that letting prices curb demand and inviting investment in more supply are key to bringing the state out of the dark. California doesn't need Sacramento's schemes for confiscation confiscation In law, the act of seizing property without compensation and submitting it to the public treasury. Illegal items such as narcotics or firearms, or profits from the sale of illegal items, may be confiscated by the police. Additionally, government action (e.g. of private property or windfall profits taxes A windfall profits tax is a tax on profits that ensue from a sudden windfall to a particular company or industry. United States In 1980, United States federal legislation was passed that levied such a tax on oil companies because of the profits they earned as a result of , it just needs some economic common sense and solid leadership. |
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