Can the Marketplace Assure Customers' Electricity Needs in 2005?

Abstract

ABSTRACT Can we count on the energy market? Well we can count on the market if we have a market to count on. That is true, almost by definition. But that is not what you really want to know, which is: Can we count on the currently constituted electricity supply industry to furnish us with ample, low cost and reliable power whenever and wherever we want it? And the answer to that question is no. Maybe we can frame the question better. But, before beginning, let's not get into the battle of the projections, the NERC projections that show gaps in supply, the RDI projections that show oversupply, the EIA projections that always end up in the middle of the road. Those projections do not show the reactions of enterprising people to both challenges and opportunities, especially when expressed in terms of price. Can they react by 2005? They can if you let them.