National Energy Policy: The Cheney Law Massacre

Accountability by corporate and government leaders would be the quickest way to get rid of corruption. Imagine if Dick Cheney was in prison right now instead of a press junket, the corrupt corporate/government landscape would change overnight.

Deregulation and Plunder in Texas

The Texas heatwave in early August resulted in a 6000% increase in emergency energy costs due to a shortage caused by the Energy Reliability Council of Texas' (ERCOT) gross underestimate of summer electricity demand. ERCOT is a quasi-governmental "non-profit" company that manages the grid and the marketplace for 85% of the state's customers. Texas has been bilked out of at least $11 billion since the advent of deregulation.

ERCOT was created when Texas deregulated the electricity market in 2002 under a law passed by former Governor Bush. ERCOT has a history of corruption (note: the report's criticisms of ERCOT appear accurate, but its author Oncor is compromised, too- they are Smart Meter pushers and are owned by Goldman Sachs, et al).

Enron, a private Houston based corporation and energy marketer, was the primary architect of deregulation in Texas. Enron's Ken Lay was undersecretary of the Department of Interior, so he knew who to bribe to manipulate policies. Enron excelled in lobbying for deregulation and spent over $8 million since 1998 in its home state with contributions (bribes) to both Bush and Rick Perry.

Texas unfairly bases its energy prices on natural ga instead of cheap coal prices using standard commodity pricing. However, some critics believe that natural gas gets an unfair advantage because of insider corruption.