MAIN LESSON FROM CALIFORNIA POWER CRISIS
OPINIÓN FINANCIAL TIMES
20 Junio de 2002
POR LYNNE H. CHURCH

Respuesta del presidente de la Asociación de Suministradores de Energía Eléctrica Estadounidense, Lynne H. Church , al Financial Times por el artículo que había escrito Chris Giles, titulado Power´s loose connection, haciendo referencia a los problemas de suministro sufridos en California y toda la crisis energética y financiera posterior, creada a raíz de ésta.

Church defiende la postura que mientras el control gubernamental de los precios puede proteger a los consumidores de la subida de tarifas, sin embargo, éste no consigue por ello controlar los cortes de suministro. La estrategia pasaría por permitir una señal de precios a corto plazo que anime a los suministradores existentes en el mercado, así como, la entrada de nuevos suministradores.

TEXTO ARTÍCULO
Sir, Considering a lingering tendency to assign blame, any discussion focused on solving the problems that led to the power shortages in California is welcome and much of what Chris Giles concluded, such as the need for longer-term supply commitments instead of relying excessively on the spot market, makes sense ("Power's loose connection", June 11).

However, his suggestion that price caps would increase supply ignores the principal lesson of the California power crisis and general economic theory.

While government-controlled prices can shield consumers from increases, they will not protect them from shortages. The best defence against high overall prices and inadequate supplies, therefore, is to allow accurate short-term price signals to encourage both conservation and greater numbers of suppliers to enter the market.

Even more troubling is Mr Giles' willingness to accept as truth the now-disproven myth that electricity generators withheld supply during the power crisis in order to drive prices higher. An audit by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Office of the General Counsel, a series of surprise visits by California's Independent System Operator and more than 800 power plant inspections conducted by the California Public Utilities Commission have yet to yield any indication of improper outages or intentional price manipulation. In the words of the South Coast Air Quality Management District, which studied power plant activity in the Los Angeles basin, the power plants there "ran at unheard-of levels to service California and the grid during the crisis".

Solving the problems that created California's power crisis begins with a focus on the facts and a willingness to part with myths, no matter how comforting they may seem. Lynne H. Church, President, Electric Power Supply Association, Washington, DC 20005, US

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