By Cassandra Anderson
September 1, 2011

The US National Energy Policy of 2005 was created under Dick Cheney's Energy Task Force in secret meetings; evidence shows that the energy industry influences foreign policy and may have led us into the Iraq War.  Cheney's National Energy Policy is also responsible for electricity deregulation scams, corporate welfare for energy producers and many other problems that we are still suffering from today.  Deregulated electricity problems in Texas and other states are a direct result of Cheney's National Energy Policy.

Cheney's Energy Task Force

In January of 2001, President Bush Jr. appointed Dick Cheney as head of the secret Energy Task Force that created the National Energy Policy.  Dick Cheney's National Energy Policy was developed in secret meetings with petroleum, coal, nuclear, natural gas, and electricity industry representatives and lobbyists including executives from Enron, Exxon-Mobile, Conoco, Royal Dutch Shell and BP Oil.

The secrecy of Cheney's Energy Task Force was maintained in a Supreme Court case, even though "Justice" Scalia should have recused himself because he went on a duck hunting trip with Cheney just prior to the hearing.  Scalia wrote, "If it is reasonable to think that a Supreme Court Justice can be bought so cheap, the Nation is in deeper trouble than I had imagined".  If it is true that Scalia can't be bought off, is it unreasonable to wonder if Cheney threatened to shoot Scalia in the face while hunting?

Prior to the Supreme Court ruling, Judicial Watch was able to obtain an Iraq oilfield and pipeline map through the Freedom of Information Act; the map & accompanying documents appear to a stake on claims in Iraq oilfields.  The documents were dated March 2001, SIX MONTHS PRIOR TO 9/11!

Last year, some documents were declassified that show that Bush/Cheney had plans to invade Iraq in January of 2001, EIGHT MONTHS PRIOR TO 9/11!  These documents along with the Iraq oil map make it reasonable to infer that the energy industry directs foreign policy to a large degree.

Remember, almost 3000 people died in the controlled demolition explosions on 9/11.  While the Iraqi death toll is not fully documented, it is possible that more than one million innocent civilian Iraqi people have been killed in our name.  The total cost of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars since 2001 amounts to over $1.2 trillion.  Cheney's Energy Task Force meetings may have been kept secret in order to cover up treason on the American people, for wars over oil.

Cheney's Energy Policies

We have no information about the deals Cheney struck with energy industry insiders, but we are subject to the rules made in the National Energy Policy (NEP) and taxpayers continue to fund the program.  Here are some of the key goals from NEP with a short analysis:

• Energy efficiency and conservation- the Smart Grid was created to consolidate power; Smart Meters monitor us and can turn energy off remotely; higher prices are another feature of this program.
  
  
• Repairing and adding to the existing network of refineries, pipelines, generators and transmission lines- this serves 2 purposes: federal control over energy infrastructure and taxpayer funded corporate welfare for Cheney's pals.
  
  
• Natural gas infrastructure improvement: 38,000 miles of new pipeline and 255,000 miles of distribution lines- Cheney created infrastructure benefiting fracking inventor Halliburton with taxpayer funded corporate welfare.  And Cheney benefited directly from his relationship with Halliburton.
  
  
• Increasing energy supplies while protecting the environment- nice words, but green, clean and renewable energy sources like wind & solar are inefficient; they are "solutions" for phony global warming, an Agenda 21 objectives.  Interestingly, hydro-power dams, the cleanest source of electricity, are being destroyed while natural gas, extracted by fracking and touted as a 'clean' energy source, is promoted.

California Gets FERC'd

Enron made massive amounts of money in California by trading in energy derivative bets that were unregulated and open to corruption.  Then Enron manipulated energy loads and transmission in California, knowing when the shortages would occur, making insider bets and importing expensive short term energy contracts.

When California was held hostage by Enron in 2000/2001, Governor Gray Davis asked Dick Cheney, the head of President Bush's Energy Task Force, to cap emergency energy import prices, but Dick refused.  Dick was too busy colluding with these same energy companies in creating the National Energy Policy to be bothered with complaints about his co-conspirator Enron.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is an agency within the Department of Energy.  Neither the President nor Congress review FERC decisions and regulations.  FERC's decisions are reviewable in federal court.  FERC has jurisdiction over interstate (across state lines) transmission of electricity and wholesale interstate commerce.  This is a gross overreach of the federal government using the Commerce Clause.  Texas is the only state that is not under FERC jurisdiction.

Therefore, when Enron manipulated the electricity markets in California, FERC had jurisdiction and did nothing, thus allowing the plunder to continue.  Finally, Congress was pressured by public outrage to force FERC to step in and place regional price caps on energy.  Enron imploded shortly thereafter.

The Deregulation Scam

Energy is essential for modern life in industrial societies; phony deregulation is bad because customers are at the mercy of manipulated markets.  Deregulation is a scam because of government interferes in the market, the opposite of a true free market based on competition.  The pricing method changes in deregulated markets and protects energy producers; consumers always pay higher prices.

In regulated markets, electricity producers receive their costs plus an allowed profit.  Deregulated markets base pricing on the most expensive generator for energy output to meet demand, the standard practice in commodity trading.

For a full explanation of commodity price structure, read Jerry Taylor and Peter Van Doren's article here:

http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=8678

The way to create a free market is to remove ALL government regulations, EXCEPT those that protect people's lives, liberty and property.

Accountability by corporate and government leaders would be the quickest way to get rid of corruption.  Imagine if Dick Cheney was in prison right now instead of a press junket, the corrupt corporate/government landscape would change overnight.

Deregulation and Plunder in Texas

The Texas heatwave in early August resulted in a 6000% increase in emergency energy costs due to a shortage caused by the Energy Reliability Council of Texas' (ERCOT) gross underestimate of summer electricity demand.  ERCOT is a quasi-governmental "non-profit" company that manages the grid and the marketplace for 85% of the state's customers.  Texas has been bilked out of at least $11 billion since the advent of deregulation.

ERCOT was created when Texas deregulated the electricity market in 2002  under a law passed by former Governor Bush.  ERCOT has a history of corruption (note: the report's criticisms of ERCOT appear accurate, but its author Oncor is compromised, too- they are Smart Meter pushers and are owned by Goldman Sachs, et al).

Enron, a private Houston based corporation and energy marketer, was the primary architect of deregulation in Texas.  Enron's Ken Lay was undersecretary of the Department of Interior, so he knew who to bribe to manipulate policies.  Enron excelled in lobbying for deregulation and spent over $8 million since 1998 in its home state with contributions (bribes) to both Bush and Rick Perry.

Texas unfairly bases its energy prices on natural ga instead of cheap coal prices using standard commodity pricing.  However, some critics believe that natural gas gets an unfair advantage because of insider corruption. 

Rick Perry says that he doesn't believe in global warming, but he took over $16 billion in Obama stimulus welfare for clean energy (natural gas produced by fracking is considered 'clean') and efficiency projects like Smart Meters that can cause cancer.  The primary reason given for clean/green/renewable energy is to lower the carbon footprint.

Solutions for Texas & Other Deregulated States

1. California showed that massive public outrage and action are required for change.
2. Rick Perry is ultimately responsible as the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) is under his control. The PUC can direct ERCOT.
3. The state legislature can draft new laws and defund the Public Utilities Commission.
4. Energy reserves can be increased.
5. Long term contracts limit high commodity prices.
6. Transparency in pricing could cut costs (why not put a Smart Meter-type of production monitor on generators and make it open to public scrutiny?)
7. Prices could be restructured based on supply and demand instead of commodity based pricing.
8. Rick Perry, ERCOT and energy traders and producers must be held accountable.