{"article":{"id":7627,"heading":"Power to the People","author":"Scott Galindez","created":"2001-06-24 06:41:40","modified":"2013-11-10 23:37:39","last_modified":"Mon, 11 Nov 2013 06:37:39","article":"

Power to the People

By Scott Galindez of People for Community Empowerment

When Gov. Pete Wilson signed legislation to deregulate the Power industry, the people of California turned their power over to out of State companies like Enron, and AES. The legislation forced California based utilities like PG&E and Edison to sell off their means of production and become providers dependent on other companies to produce the electricity.

The Enron Corporation, a Texas based company that worked closely with Vice President Dick Cheney to build Enron Field in Houston, and was the number one contributor to Bush\/Cheney 2000 was set up for just a situation. With a few exceptions Enron isn’t a Producer of Electricity, they are primarily a reseller with an operation that resembles the stock market. They buy up electricity on the open market and then re-sell for whatever the market bears.

AES, “the Global Power Company” owns and\/or operates power plants in Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Georgia, Hungary, India, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, Mexico, Pakistan, Panama, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Venezuela.

Deregulation forced Edison to sell their Huntington Beach, Alamitos, and Redondo Beach Plants to AES. There are allegations that AES and the other out of state companies that came in have purposely lowered their production to raise the price they can charge for the electricity that their out of State companies produce and put on the open market.

Another advantage the power emergencies provide to companies like AES is that during alerts they are allowed to burn cheap sulfur oil, and turn on older generators that don’t meet current emission standards. So every time we have rolling blackouts providers like AES pocket more money with increased production, and resellers like Enron jack up their prices because they know California has to buy at any price.

If you're a residential or small business ratepayer of Edison, PG&E or SDG&E, you've already paid $20 billion in extra electricity charges thanks to deregulation. Now you're about to be hit with another $11 billion in rate increases. Deregulation has failed, and the utility companies that pushed deregulation -- and prospered from it -- now want California ratepayers to bail them out.

Opposition to these energy rip-offs is on the rise. The State Federation of the AFL-CIO has launched their Rolling Blackmail Campaign and has already delivered eminent domain notices to out of state owned plants in Oakland, Fresno and Huntington Beach and are planning several more similar actions during the next 2 months.

In Southern California a coalition consisting of local groups has formed to hold a July 4th Parade in Long Beach to the Alamitos power plant owned by AES. The plant which was finned 17 million dollars last December for violating emission standards. That was the largest fine ever given to any energy provider, yet they still made an obscene profit! For more information go to

www.rokcircle.com\/july4action.htm<\/p>\n","contact":"sgalindez@mediaone.net","link":"www.rokcircle.com\/july4action.htm","address":"","phone":"213-389-2991","parent_id":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","summary":"People rising up to take back our power!!!","numcomment":1,"fileurl":"\/uploads\/2001\/06\/oaklaobkph2.jpg","filesize":"16.6 kibibytes","article_url":"\/news\/2001\/06\/7627.php","image":{"original":"\/uploads\/2001\/06\/oaklaobkph2.jpg","small":"\/uploads\/2001\/06\/oaklaobkph2.jpgthumb.jpg"}},"attachments":[],"comments":[{"id":7628,"heading":"Why You should March on July 4th","article":"POWER TO THE PEOPLE PARADE to the\r\nAES\/Williams ALAMITOS POWER PLANT\r\nLong Beach July 4, 2001\r\nCelebration of Interdependence Gather at 11:00AM in EL DORADO PARK WEST\/DUCK POND off of Studebaker between Stearns & Willow\r\n\r\nWhy AES\/Williams Alamitos?\r\n\r\nThey are Pirates! AES has been found to have created phony shortages through bogus shutdowns at this plant that have driven prices and profits through the roof - forcing consumers to suffer and small businesses to fail... and\r\nbeen fined only pennies on the dollar of the amount they stole!\r\n\r\nAes\/Williams Los Alamitos Plant -Posterchid For Energy Crisis\r\n\r\nAES\/WILLIAMS\/LA extorts nearly one Billion $$ from the California State budget taken from social programs by threatening blackout, then switches from clean natural gas to high toxic emission bunker oil at high cost in human lives! Out-of-state, global energy cartel corporations like\r\nAES\/WILLIAMS, RELIANT, ENRON and others make enormous profits at the expense of our communities and lives...all with the backing of officials in government who are acting\r\nas virtual agents of these cartels. Unite to defend our Energy Independence from Corporate Pirates!\r\n\r\nSouthern Californians have paid - and are paying - a far higher price than doubling and maybe even quadrupling utility rates, higher than gutted social programs as the State diverts every unspent dollar to \"keep the lights on\",\r\nhigher even than union jobs lost at decertified plants and scratched construction programs. When toxic emission controls are removed, when unregulated toxics are released to the air basin just when the population is most vulnerable, preventable deaths occur. THE YOUNG, THE OLD AND THE INFIRM ARE BEING SACRIFICED TO OUTRAGEOUS PROFITS BY AES AND THEIR COCONSPIRATORS!\r\n\r\nFurther, these deaths are falling unequally on people of color and poverty, who just happen to live where the smog is heaviest, the toxic load the highest and the services are scant and being cut. THE ENVIRONMENTAL INJUSTICE AND OVERT RACISM DELIVERED BY THE ENERGY CRISIS CONTRIVED BY\r\nPROFITEERING AES AND THEIR ILK IS THE MOST BLATANT EVER\r\nSEEN IN THIS COUNTRY! IT MUST NOT BE ALLOWED TO CONTINUE!\r\n\r\nThat's why we are marching to AES on July 4th. That's why we need your help. Please join us. Together, we can take back the Plant. Together, we can stop the toxic emissions and take back the stolen programs. Together, we can win!\r\n\r\nWe Want Government to Encourage the Use of Decentralized Sources of Power:\r\nPhotovoltaic Cells\r\nWind Turbines\r\nMicroturbines That Burn Natural Or Biomass Gas\r\nFuel Cells\r\nMicrohydropower Systems\r\n\r\nNo Utility Bailout!\r\nWe Demand a Windfall Profits Tax\r\nSupport SB2x-1 by Senator Soto\r\n\r\nEndorsed by:\r\nAction Resource Center\r\nCalifornia Earth Corp\r\nCISPES\r\nCountercoup\r\nCrack The CIA Coalition\r\nGlobal Exchange\r\nLong Beach Food Not Bombs\r\nLos Angeles County Federation of Labor\/AFL-CIO\r\nLong Beach Area Citizens Involved\r\nLong Beach Area Peace Network\r\nLong Beach Greens\r\nOffice of the Americas\r\nPeter Carr Peace Center\r\nSo Cal Fair Trade Network\r\nThroop Memorial Church Social Justice Committee\r\nUS-Mexico Border Action Project\r\n\r\n\r\nlabor and materials donated by:\r\nPeople for Community Empowerment http:\/\/www.rokcircle.com\/july4action.htm\r\n\r\nRe-Regulation - the only way\r\nto assure reliable, affordable energy for all Californians\r\n","author":"Scott Galindez","parent_id":7627,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2001-06-24 06:52:43","modified":"2001-06-24 08:00:01","fileurl":""}]}