According to Politico, in a story I cannot find on-line
but had emailed to me, some utilities have shown again that while
individuals have principles, businesses have business plans. With
rare exceptions, the twain don’t meet all that often.
And, now, there’s a buck to be made, off of you, in the most
cynical and economically harmful fashion possible. You think
they’re going to say ‘no’? Why, don’t you know how to be a wise man
in Washington? It’s an easy four-step process. Try it out at the
Caucus Room or Capital Grille. You’ll be amazed at the friends you
make:
Well, you can’t just say ‘no’
We have to do ‘something’
It’s inevitable
I just need certainty
Voila. Washington Wise man.
To wit:
Pro: Power company CEOs don’t back GOP drive to throttle
EPA
By Darren Samuelsohn
Top power company CEOs rained on the Republican parade Tuesday
as Congress eyes legislation forcing an outright halt to EPA
climate change rules.
The leaders - from American Electric Power, NextEra Energy,
Southern Co. and Dominion Resources - said to varying degrees that
they support allowing the EPA to proceed on a “reasonable” time
frame on greenhouse gas rules for power plants, petroleum refiners
and other major stationary sources.
They also didn’t sound so thrilled with the draft bill
pre-empting the EPA that House Energy and Commerce Committee
Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) plans to start moving later this
spring.
“I think that’s probably a bit strong,” said Michael Morris,
president and CEO of Columbus, Ohio-based AEP, in an interview at
an energy industry conference in Washington. “Congressman Upton is
a dear friend and a very strong leader and a visionary elected
official, but I think even he knows that that probably isn’t going
to happen.”
“I don’t support complete preemption,” Lewis Hay, chairman and
CEO of NextEra Energy, a Juno Beach, Fla.-based power company, told
POLITICO. “When I look at what EPA has done so far and the position
they’ve taken on greenhouse gases, I think it’s actually been
pretty moderate.”
NextEra is the biggest windmill rent-seeker among utilities, I
believe. They’ve got ‘em, are stuck with ‘em, and need you to pay
them off with a guaranteed ROI. And, yes, Mike Morris of AEP
would think doing the right thing is little bit
strong.
You see, around the same time as the Exelon revelations I have
noted here on
occasion, Morris, the CEO of America’s largest coal burning
utility, American Electric Power (AEP), also opened up to
Forbes to admit that the carbon dioxide rationing
scheme-which, by chance he, too, is promoting, with the same
windfall in mind as Exelon-would add billions in additional costs
to his company, certainly, but he chuckled at the beauty of it:
they get to pass those billions on to the ratepayer, with a little
something on top for themselves. Under cost-recovery schemes giving
a percentage for their troubles, the more it costs, the better. See
e.g.,
here.
These people deserve to be publicly shamed. It’s a profit scheme
off of the average ratepayer’s back to the detriment of the
economy. AEP, Exelon, GE, DeutscheBank, all of you rent-seekers, be
forewarned. The public will figure this out before it’s
too late.
