Energy Dependance and Energy Theft
By Malcolm Hedges (07/26/08)
Some several states have decided to forgo generating their own energy and just import it from adjacent states.
One way to look at the practice is that they are figuratively speaking stealing energy resources from the providing states.
And so I would propose that a Federal energy sucker fee be imposed upon all energy imported into states that refuse to generate their own energy.
The funds generated would be provided to the provider state with a maximum of 5% of collections allowed to be retained by the Federal government for administrative costs.
Some threshold would be established by a flat formula to insure that states would not be charged the fee until it could demonstrated they had a the ability but refused to do their own work.
On the plus side, states that export raw energy materials such as coal, natural gas and oil would receive credits against any energy import fees.
Additionally states with severe physical or natural topology issues would be allowed to appeal for exemption or reduced fees.
A primary example is The Peoples Republik Of Kalifornia that shut down two excellent Nuclear Power facilities to keep the Greens happy and now import that electricity from Arizona, Nevada and Oregon. If Kalifornia would allow exploration and production of oil they could use that production to get offsetting credits.
Some states have quashed clean coal electrical generation and should be subject to fees on all imported energy of like kind.
Any state that sells any energy to another state that deprives its residents from adequate energy should also be subject to the same fees.
An hypothetical scenario: State A has a lot of hydroelectric generation capabilities and state B wants to buy some of that power. If state A sells any power to state B that deprives its residents of basic living requirements or artificially raises state A energy prices because of a self induced shortage, state A would be subject to the energy sucker fee and those funds would be directly disbursed to the electric users of state A.
I'm not real keen on Federal mandates or fees, but when state governments attempt to implement independent fiefdoms at the expense of other states, the only arbitrator is the Federal government.
It's a pretty simple model and needs to stay simple with refinements, but I'm sure you get the general idea.
This place we live in is "The United States Of America", when states decide to sponge off of other states the Federal government should at minimum establish a mechanism to return a common sense balance.
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