Republican Bill To Allow Utility Companies To Ration Energy
Instead of demanding that utility companies spend up for reliable sources of energy, legislators try to balance the shortfall on the backs of consumers. Worse, this type of nonsense come Republican lawmakers. Public Utilities are monopolies under strict control of public boards and are supposed to provide energy to all consumers.
As I wrote in Technocracy’s Necessary Requirements, this was the plan for Technocracy as revealed in the Technocracy Study Course in 1934. Here are the first two requirements:
1. Register on a continuous 24-hour-per-day basis the total net conversion of energy
Conversion of energy means creating useable energy from stored energy like coal, oil or natural gas; when they are burned, electricity is generated. Hydroelectric and nuclear also convert energy. There were two reasons to keep track of useable energy: First, it was the basis for issuing “energy script” to all citizens for buying and selling goods and services. Second, it predicted economic activity because all such activity is directly dependent upon energy. (Note that Technocrats intended to pre-determine how much energy would be made available in the first place.)
2. By means of the registration of energy converted and consumed, make possible a balanced load
Once available energy was quantified, it was to be allocated to consumers and manufacturers so as to limit production and consumption. Technocrats would have control of both ends, so that everything is managed according to their scientific formulas.
The modern Smart Grid, with its ubiquitous WiFi-enabled Smart Meters on homes and businesses, is the exact fulfillment of these two requirements. The concept of “energy web” was first revitalized in 1999 by the Bonneville Power Authority (BPA) in Portland, Oregon. A government agency, BPA had a rich history of Technocrats dating back to its creation in 1937. The “energy web” was renamed Smart Grid in 2009 during the Obama Administration. Note that Smart Grid was a global initiative that intended to blanket the entire world with this new energy control technology. ⁃ Patrick Wood, Editor.
Proposed legislation would allow utility companies to temporarily limit the amount of customers’ energy usage during peak demand times.
Rep. Roy Klopfenstein, R-Haviland, introduced House Bill 427 late last month. The measure, which has not yet been assigned to a committee, creates a “voluntary demand response program.”
Under the program, customers could opt to allow utilities to “temporarily adjust energy usage” during periods of high demand. Actions could include “raising thermostat settings or cycling water heaters.”
As proposed, customers could override any changes, and utilities could compensate customers either annually or per event. The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio would review the programs to ensure they are cost-effective for customers.
“This legislation is a crucial step in our state’s comprehensive plan to ensure all Ohioans have access to reliable, affordable, and readily available energy,” Klopfenstein said in a release.
“Demand response programs have proven to be a vital tool for our large commercial users, and it’s important that similar programs are made available to residential and small commercial users,” Klopfenstein added. “These programs will ease the strain on our energy grid and save money for all Ohioans.”
Modernizing the Grid?
The legislation is touted as a way to modernize Ohio’s energy regulations and improve the electric grid’s reliability while also helping homeowners and small businesses save money.
If approved, PUCO would evaluate the success of the utility demand response programs within three years. It would offer state lawmakers recommendations on modifications to improve the program.
Grid reliability has been a hot topic this summer as temperatures in the Buckeye State sweltered.
In June, PJM Interconnection, a regional transmission organization serving Ohio and a dozen other states, sent a Maximum Generation Emergency Alert, asking power generators to be prepared to operate at maximum capacity. At the time, energy demand was predicted to surpass the grid operator’s original estimate for the summer, and it could reach a point where it could pay customers to reduce their energy usage.
A Chilly Reception
The proposal met an unenthusiastic reception online.
“They already have this in CA,” one commenter posted. “Monopolistic utilities with cyclical corruption colluding with government essentially makes them government entities… It’s ‘opt in’ for now. My smart thermostat has a lot of nice features, but I mostly leave the Wi-Fi off.”
“Well to be fair, it is a voluntary program,” another posted. “And you’d have to have a smart thermostat so [I] don’t think this is happening in a big way anytime soon.”
