Study: Calif. Gas Prices Inflated

[Choralone]

OMFG! After reading this AP press release. I can understand why the people in California are screaming mad.

<< Californians paid $6.6 billion for natural gas in 1999, $12.3 billion last year, and $7.9 billion this year through March, the report says. At one point there was a 2,795 percent difference between the price of gas at its source in the Southwest and its cost at the California border. >>

2795% markup for natural gas?!?! I could understand 500%, people gotta make some money, but 2795% is insane! :|

I wonder if similar studies will find increases like that for natural gas in the midwest and heating oil in the northeast...

 

[cxim]

nope,

only for the ' I steal your water &amp; gas Cali-fornicate-ons !'

 

[Tripleshot]

>>gas company officials said market conditions, not cost and capacity manipulation, caused the price spikes. <<

Market Conditions?

Is that the same as &quot;this is the price,take it or leave it.&quot;?

It sure doesn't sound like there was a problem with cost or capacity. California paid the price!

If your neighbor is a democrat,shoot em,then maybe shrub will show favors to you and give you relief.


Naw, he has no heart. You didn't vote for him,now your gunna pay.

But if your congressman is quick and votes in that tax cut,you'll have some money to pay for that energy.

Don't that make you feel better now?

 

[Cycad]

It isn't like we californians have a choice on what we pay for resources. We have to pay what they tell us. But we like to live in California since it is just better than anywhere else.

 

[etech]

&quot;The subcommittee, controlled by Democrats, &quot;

could be part of the answer right there.

 

[cxim]

Triples ?

Guess you didn't read the tea leaves &amp; have no old gas shares ?

Question ?

Who is ARKLA ?

 

[Tripleshot]

Like selective amnesia....the Republican-controlled Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has approved contracts that are contributing to California's energy crisis, according to the report obtained by The Associated Press

 

[MrChicken]

I live in TN, and my NG bill has doubled this year.

I dont know all the facts, I dont think anybody does.

Here goes my PO'd, knee jerk opinions.

1. Whoever depended on the good will and &quot;free-market&quot; to lower utility rates in CA has to be the most idiotic group people in the world. Crap any 4th grader could have told you that the prices were going to skyrocket when you a necessity controlled by corporations driven by profit.

2. That affected nearly everybody in the US. I know that if had NG to sell, I would sell to CA or to people that sell to CA. In any case, I sure wouldnt sell it cheap when i could point to the price of NG in CA. That's how my NG bill doubled.

3. CA created this problem, the fed shouldnt bail them out. If the fed foots the bill, the prices will stay high, and the burden shifts to the whole country.

4. CA wants electricty, they just dont want it generated there. Ok fine, then pay out the A** for it.

 

[Choralone]

Ouch. Isn't it funny how these sorts of things turn into a Democrat vs. Republican match? I didn't mean to bring on a political arguement although I should have figured it would turn into one.

I just find it outrageous that people, regardless of their political party, would allow this to happen. Of course those persons responsible for 2500+% price spikes are making out like bandits.

Doesn't anyone bother to think about what would happen if you decided quadruple the cost of a power plants' operating expenses, (assuming that natural gas makes up a large chunk of those operating expenses) while the state is in the middle of a nasty energy crisis? Or is the almighty dollar and the idea of making a quick buck now too good of a dangling carrot to resist, no matter what the eventual cost?

Maybe it'll take a major shortage that cuts power to millions for days on end and causes a mass exodus of big business away from the state before certain people get serious about dealing with the problem. I feel sorrow for the consumers and especially small business owners. They're getting shafted and seemingly no amount of screaming on their part is going to get anything done. It'll just turn into a shouting match with joe blow democrate blaming bob smith republican for the peoples problem or vice versa.

<sigh>

 

[Tripleshot]

We had a chip manufacturing plant here in our community,taking advantage of a good,low paid,talented labor pool.But they had to move on because we suffer from power brown outs,and an occasional 5 second black out every now and then.

That's too much for a chip manufacturer. If anything disrupts the process, millions are lost. I expect the companies in that line of work,or with that same production risk factor are not only looking for a new home,I'm surprised they haven't left yet.