
Date: Tue, 29 May 2001 07:13:00 -0700 (PDT)
From: rob.bradley@enron.com
To: richard.shapiro@enron.com
Subject: Re: Economists letter on FERC and California

Rick:

This letter is disingenuous by not mentioning the retail price cap
environment (economists know that price comes from consumer value flowing
backward and not historic "cost" flowing forward in even quasi-competitive
markets) and not mentioning FERC's action on the wholesale natural gas side.

If you want to explore a project where we get a bunch of in-state and
out-of-state economists to sign an open letter arguing for lifting retail
price caps with electricity from which we could make a case for wholesale J&R
rates from demand dampening, I can contact either the Reason Public Policy
Foundation or the Independence Institute in Oakland.  I mention the latter
because they have experience in doing this sort of thing where they publish a
signatory list in the newspapers and all that.  If so, I can look into this
and try to get a price estimate.  If so, who on your team should I work with
on this?

I think a letter from our side could make a good case for what the other side
is calling "just and reasonable" by retail price freedom and open access,
bilateral transaction institutional reform.

