Letters to the Editor
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It's All About Prices
Neither more deregulation or re-regulation is going to solve the problem until consumers face the music in the form of higher prices. Deregulation has hardly spurred the power development that proponents have envisioned, but much of that is a response to the fact that we don't truly have deregulated markets. Offers are capped, and prices are nearly what they need to be spur new alternative development. Wind only works because of tax credits. I work in the power industry, and the fact is that as much as we would like to develop alternative power it's unfeasible at current prices. Prices need to go much higher. Carbon caps need to be put in place. Give the power industry higher prices, and you'll see technological progress. And if in the process existing power companies reap excess profits, it's really not such a bad thing as those profits are often poured back into development of new power sources.