The Patriot Post® · Dwindling Need for Power Grid a Gov't Problem of Its Own Making

Overregulation has been a problem for the government lately, as regulation of one industry has eroded its tax in another sector. Take, for example, the Fuel Mileage Standards that forced automakers to make more efficient cars. That led to America using less gasoline, which led to less money going to the Highway Transportation Fund. Whoops. Now, the electrical efficiency standards as set by the government are stretching thin the electrical grid. “Since 2004,” The Wall Street Journal writes, “average residential electricity prices have jumped 39%, to 12.5 cents a kilowatt-hour and prices for all users have jumped 36% to 10.42 cents, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Retail sales to homes and businesses still are less than they were in 2007, before the recession. Even in parts of the country where the population has been growing, electricity sales have been anemic. Southern Co. , for example, said that in the third quarter of 2014, residential accounts grew 0.7% in its four-state region – but total home electricity sales contracted 0.6%.” That’s the problem with big government: When it gets too big, it starts tripping all over itself. More…