Overview: US has supported nationalization of foreign oil industries and OPEC cartel, especially with military defense; Big Oil & Gas receives preferential environmental exemptions (not available to other techs); regulated territorial franchises awarded to electricity and gas utility monopolies; deregulated electricity monopolies allowed to rig deregulation rules; wind and solar receives subsidies and preferential grid rules for monopolizing renewable mandates; and corn and cellulosic ethanol receives preferential mandates and subsidies compared to alternative crops.
(1) Energy Sector Supply Chain
- Fuel/Material Producers -
Transport = oil mining, OPEC Cartel, corn/cellulosic ethanol
Electricity = gas, coal and uranium mining
Natural Gas = gas mining
- Energy/Material Producers/Suppliers -
Oil = refiners
Electricity Generators/Suppliers = electricity utilities, wind/solar
Gas Suppliers = gas utilities
Trade = gasoline stations, electricity/gas trading
Manufacturing = petroleum/gas/coal products (chemicals, plastics, rubbers)
(2) Regulations favoring monopolies
US government regulations favor and create energy monopolies:
> federal politicians since FDR have supported nationalization of foreign oil industries and the OPEC cartel, especially through military protection and other intervention in the oil rich Middle East
> federal politicians favor Big Oil & Gas (and wood logging) whenever prices rise by consistently relaxing environmental regulation
> federal politicians favor the fracking technology with preferential exemptions from environmental laws imposed on other industries (e.g., coal)
> each state has granted monopolies to (mostly privately-owned) electricity and natural gas utilities and formed public utilities commissions to regulate them (Holly 2011)
> 37 states grant territorial monopolies to electricity and natural gas utilities that determine who can produce electricity and natural gas (sometimes through rigged bidding favoring cronies) (Holly 2014), and charge small business more than large business for energy
> the 13 remaining states favor partially deregulated monopolies resulting from preferential deregulation of "regulated" utility monopolies during the 1990s, including rigged trading schemes, preferential access to lines, and bargain asset sales to cronies
> US government favors some renewable energy, especially wind and solar power (Holly 2013), corn and cellulose ethanol and electric cars, with mandates, subsidies, low-interest loans and non-research grants that render potentially cheaper and clean technologies uncompetitive (e.g., cogeneration)
(3) Monopolies are leading to economic and environmental problems
Oil monopolies are causing alternating cycles of energy crises with price gouging and predatory pricing causing bankruptcies of domestic producers. Overall, it raises the costs of energy, and blocks the development of new energy sources.
(4) Economic problems can be solved by deregulation reform
> abolish support for nationalization of foreign oil industries and OPEC cartel
> require free markets for military protection and other aid for Middle East (private companies would not restrict oil production)
> abolish regulations favoring Big Oil & Gas, especially preferential exemptions from environmental laws
> abolish regulations favoring electricity and natural gas utility monopolies,
> abolish mandates, subsidies, low-interest loans and non-research grants for energy sources
> abolish US government regulations both favoring and disfavoring coal
> abolish US government regulations favoring nuclear power, including subsidized Price Anderson insurance
> Regulate specific pollutants only, do not favor industries