The Not-So-Smart Grid, European Antitrust and Light Bulb Smuggling
Utilities compete for almost $4 billion of federal stimulus funds earmarked for the creation of an electrical “smart grid.”
European regulators may delay the merger of Oracle and Sun Microsystems.
Energy conservation officials in Europe make it a crime – punishable by a $7500 fine – to buy or sell 100-watt incandescent light bulbs.
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1. ENERGY
Utilities compete for almost $4 billion of federal stimulus funds earmarked for the creation of an electrical “smart grid.”
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Energy Policy Analyst William Yeatman on why the smart grid idea is anything but:
“Congress wants to overhaul the system by spending a king’s ransom on technologies that would give utilities the ability to moderate consumer demand—by, say, remotely turning down millions of thermostats during periods of peak use. In theory, this might avoid the supply crunches that can stress the system to the breaking point, leading to blackouts. Proponents call this a ‘smart grid’ approach, but it’s really a stupid policy, especially when the U.S. could modernize the system without spending a penny from the government treasury.”
2. TECHNOLOGY
European regulators may delay the merger of Oracle and Sun Microsystems.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Vice President for Policy Wayne Crews on the EU’s history of abusing its regulatory authority:
“This [Microsoft antitrust] case is one of today’s dominant examples of global antitrust regulation’s incoherency; the whole enterprise is ripe for exploitation. What price or behavior qualifies as acceptable is always open to official second-guessing. This arbitrary regulatory environment harms successful firms, and offers a slick political alternative to competition for failing ones. When competition for consumers becomes too hard, competing for government favor will often serve. Indeed, good lawyers may be cheaper than great software engineers.”
3. ENVIRONMENT
Energy conservation officials in Europe make it a crime – punishable by a $7500 fine – to buy or sell 100-watt incandescent light bulbs.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Senior Fellow Iain Murray on the ominous future of indoor lighting:
“The dim bulbs in charge of regulating indoor light must realize how unpopular this is. The fact that the Europeans are imposing massive fines on bulb-smuggling indicates that they are worried they are creating a black market. I worry that soon we’ll see bulb police, inspecting your light fittings in the living room, bathroom and – yes! – the bedroom.”
Listen to LibertyWeek, the CEI podcast, here.
