Hacks & Wonks

"Increase prices is the best Demand-Side Management in the energy business." I am sure a lot of energy providers (especially those from CAMPUT) would agree with this statement.

You mean like high petroleum rates decreased vehicle use...oh wait, they didn't.

Arbitrary rate hikes to curb use? Terrible logic.

Nothing like punishing low-income families to get a rich asshole to turn his hot tub off.

No, you turn around and have everybody (both inside and outside Manitoba) pay more for the juice, while turning around and using the entires profits to say, increase the basic exemption pass the pathetically low threshold it is today. ($6,800-ish from memory?)

That way everybody uses less power and the mucho profits we're passing up today (conservatively pegged at about $750 million to $1 billion a year if I recall the U of M study) entirely on spending (or cuts to taxes) in the province.

Using profits from exports to help Manitobans prosper.

"Won't someone think of the po' folks?!" is becoming the go-to rift ala Helen Lovejoy, is it not? In fact...

PS: Were fuel rates to stay up above a buck consistently, you would definitely see a decline in use and a move to more fuel-efficient vehicles. In fact, $1.25 for gas wouldn't be the worse green policy, though the farm boy in me shivers at the notion of getting around rural Manitoba at those prices.

Join the "Pigou Club" started by Greg Mankiw!!!

Anyhow, what you're proposing is some sort of "income re-distribution". It sounds too "commie", but I don't think it is a bad idea.

How about having "brackets" for energy rate?? Charge a much higher rate when you pass a certain limit, just like the income tax? And use the extra revenue to provide income tax relief?

FYI.

http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2007/01/pigou-club-news.html

Hack, I agree with you about increasing the rates inside and outside the province, but I disagree about what should be done with the revenues. I think that the revenues should be put towards sustainable and environmentally friendly initiatives to increase the clean energy capacity of the province. A billion dollars spent today on developing clean energy will be worth exponentially more down the road.

Shae,

You turn a percentage of the profits over to the U of M and private research labs to work on various science projects along those lines, and you use a percentage of it to invest in infrastructure (upgrading lines outside the province that we can then charge rental to the customers on), but the largest chunk has to go to making the provincial tax situation much much much MUCH more competitive. Not just to offset the raise in price, but to attract new development and growth.

X,

It ain't communism. It's capitalism. Getting the maximum amount of profit from our customers (exports out of province) to make the dividends greater for the shareholders (Manitoba residents).

The cheap "below market rates" policy is socialism at its best. (And after a couple of decades of the policy, I feel its safe to say that it's a failed policy in terms of growing the Manitoban government.)

When you have a monopoly (i.e. Manitoba Hydro), together with a price regulated board, it is hardly to have the market at work. I really don't know if that is called "capitalism".

I refer "commie" to the "wealth re-distribution" idea. I personally like the "Pigou Club".

Currently, with the rates set as low as possible, rather than floating with N.American market rates....Yes, there's a communistic aspect there....

However, once we start exporting power, the monopoly ends there, and that's when we fight at market prices.

Stop causing trouble!

You made me sound like a "shit disturber"!!

:)