> Do California’s Blackouts Make Sense?

Doesn't make much sense until you understand the disaster capitalism angle.

The disaster capitalists[1][2] are in charge again as they have been in this authoritarian administration and the last one when CA was being messed with before two decades ago.[3]

The last time CA had blackouts it was due to gaming the market, mostly Enron, and schemes to make money off of emergencies and create false fixed markets [3].

> One of the energy wholesalers that became notorious for "gaming the market" and reaping huge speculative profits was Enron Corporation. Enron CEO Kenneth Lay mocked the efforts by the California state government to thwart the practices of the energy wholesalers, saying, "In the final analysis, it doesn't matter what you crazy people in California do, because I got smart guys who can always figure out how to make money." The original statement was made in a phone conversation between S. David Freeman (Chairman of the California Power Authority) and Kenneth Lay in 2000, according to the statements made by Freeman to the Senate Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs, Foreign Commerce and Tourism in April and May 2002[3]

Utilities should simply not be able to operate privately and switch to state owned if they have to have massive blackouts like this and it would prevent gaming. You just can't have utilities like water, power, network and more at the whims of some money and media manipulators, the temptation is too great. Everything else but required services is fair game. However it says something that growth is so tapped in the US that the best way for these big fish to make money is to burn down necessary services, creating disasters and emergencies, and rebuild it, gaming it all the way down and up, Great Recession style.

This outlook was echoed in the last rolling blackouts CA shock events:

> S. David Freeman, who was appointed Chair of the California Power Authority in the midst of the crisis, made the following statements about Enron's involvement in testimony submitted before the Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs, Foreign Commerce and Tourism of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation on May 15, 2002:[3]

> "There is one fundamental lesson we must learn from this experience: electricity is really different from everything else. It cannot be stored, it cannot be seen, and we cannot do without it, which makes opportunities to take advantage of a deregulated market endless. It is a public good that must be protected from private abuse. If Murphy's Law were written for a market approach to electricity, then the law would state 'any system that can be gamed, will be gamed, and at the worst possible time.' And a market approach for electricity is inherently gameable. Never again can we allow private interests to create artificial or even real shortages and to be in control.[3]

> "Enron stood for secrecy and a lack of responsibility. In electric power, we must have openness and companies that are responsible for keeping the lights on. We need to go back to companies that own power plants with clear responsibilities for selling real power under long-term contracts. There is no place for companies like Enron that own the equivalent of an electronic telephone book and game the system to extract an unnecessary middleman’s profits. Companies with power plants can compete for contracts to provide the bulk of our power at reasonable prices that reflect costs. People say that Governor Davis has been vindicated by the Enron confession."[3]

In the Enron triggered emergencies, they were 'overscheduling' on purpose and 'megawatt laundering' [5]

> "There is a single connection between northern and southern California's power grids. I heard that Enron traders purposely overbooked that line, then caused others to need it. Next, by California's free-market rules, Enron was allowed to price-gouge at will." [5]

In my conjectured opinion on this subject in regards to the new rolling blackout game triggered by the massive 2018 California fires [4], the fires were started this summer as a sabotage effort to get the game started again, and as a very useful distraction. The fires started in many points at once [4], affecting areas that got major coverage (wealthy areas) and was supposedly started by power lines/stations that had dry overgrowth? Two months before the 2018 election? Shouldn't this happen every year in CA then this widespread? I just don't believe it. I do believe that this part of the ongoing battles between authoritarianism and CA standing up to it, the CA market attracts this type of gaming because of its size and leading place in setting business, specifically regulation, trends. I expect to see lots more gaming over the next 5+ years.

The 2018 California fires were massive and the cause was listed as part of climate change and dry vegetation, so many fires, so widespread. It was predicted in August 2018 there would be more fires and that is a perfect opportunity for a disaster capitalist to game it [4].

> Many different factors led to the 2018 California wildfire season becoming so destructive. A combination of an increased amount of natural fuel and compounding atmospheric conditions linked to global warming led to a series of destructive fires. Recent research on wildfires in California, published in August 2018, predicted an increase in the number of wildfires as a consequence of climate change. Humans have been recorded as the main cause of wildfires in California. Various causes, both intentional and accidental, such as arson, unattended campfires, fireworks, cigarettes, cars, and power lines have contributed to this increase in the number of fires. Updating equipment, ensuring forest maintenance is being completed, and having oversight by state and federal governments are some of the mitigating actions that can reduce the risk of wildfires. [4]

The disaster capitalists[1][2] are in charge again, to the chagrin of fair market capitalists who see these types of players as rogue agents that are looking to break down markets in the worst way because they know emergency money gets approved easier and can just as easily be looted and when you break a market you know which way it is going and can short and distort play it. Disaster capitalist approach is all over our current economy from Puerto Rico to the trade war to everything internally from policy to regulation. 9/11 set a bad precedent with how we react to these events and a dark disaster/emergency market cadence has emerged.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JG9CM_J00bw

[2] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/aug/08/naomi-klein-in...

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_electricity_crisis#...

[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_California_wildfires

[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_electricity_crisis#...