November 23, 2005

The Deal That Even Awed Them in Houston - New York Times

A tale of profiteering, this? Clever capitalists will always find ways to make money, but as described in this article, extraordinary profits have been made by the private equity groups who put $900 million of their capital at risk. Many factors worked to make this possible. The rapid rise in the price of natural gas coupled with the deregulation of electricity and Texas' tying the cost of electricity to the price of natural gas all contributed.

The fact that Texas produces 75% of its electricity from natural gas is a big factor in this profit.

I'm sure we don't have all the facts in this article, but those we do have should be an alert to how big money can be made when energy prices spike.

This clever statement:"This part of the deregulation process has transferred billions from ratepayers to investors," said Clarence L. Johnson, director of regulatory analysis at the Office of Public Utility Counsel, a state agency in Texas created to represent the interests of homeowners and small businesses on utility issues. "It seems extraordinary, doesn't it?" is an oversimplification and , but plays well in the political 'sound bite' arena.

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