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February 15, 2023 10:40 AM UTC

AFP Says Free Market For Me--But Not The PUC?

  • 10 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

We were forwarded this ad from the conservative “astroturf” organizing group Americans for Prosperity Colorado, the longtime local affiliate of the Koch corporate empire’s political chicanery wing, hitting Colorado energy consumers with a head-turning message considering the source–keep in mind these are so-called “free market” advocates, who profess to be loath to government regulation of any kind, and especially friendly to fossil fuels:

That’s right, folks! Americans for Prosperity wants government regulators to artificially cap the price of energy being charged by a commercial energy provider! It’s like the Democratic Socialists of America calling for privatizing Social Security. Let’s be very clear that no one can defend Xcel Energy’s record-breaking profits in the context of the punishing price hikes on natural gas in particular, and we’re not making any attempt to do so.

But the last people who should be calling for government to interfere with “market pricing” is the Koch Industries-founded and funded Americans for Prosperity, whose whole schtick since setting up shop in our state has been the unquestioning defense of “free market economics.” There’s definitely an argument that the Public Utilities Commission has been overly permissive in approving price hikes on energy consumers, but scapegoating the PUC instead of the energy corporation asking for the price hikes misses the point so completely that it could honestly be a diversion on behalf of Xcel Energy.

That, or the free marketeers have decided that only government can save us from corporate greed.

It’s doesn’t pass the smell test, does it?

Comments

10 thoughts on “AFP Says Free Market For Me–But Not The PUC?

  1. If I considered this with a cynical viewpoint, I'd guess that AFP is setting up a campaign to say something like "regulators didn't protect you from higher prices, so we ought to abolish the regulators." 

  2. There’s something wrong when you fully agree with what someone is saying, but oppose it because of who they are. If someone supports a good idea for the wrong reason, they’re still supporting that good idea.

    welcome their support and thank them for their efforts.

    1. There is nothing wrong with questioning the motives of someone who is supporting something completely out of character with every one of their past actions. That's called being wise.

      1. If you have a goal, the motives of those who join you in seeking the goal are immaterial.

        Otherwise, you can stand all alone with your pure motives while others achieve their goals.

        1. Understanding their motives is completely material when all previous actions by those in question have been to work diametrically against your goals. Are you guys serious about this? This is like "your husband beat you every day but today he wants to help you with the laundry so you should just be happy" level of ridiculousness.

          1. She should still divorce the SOB after he finishes helping her with the laundry. But use his labor first.

            It doesn't matter if the cat is black or white as long as it kills rats,

  3. As with the Lincoln Project in 2020, I'll take the assist. So long as we're not permitted to drag Xcel executives and PUC members from their homes and beat them into quivering puddles of goo, the enemy of my enemy is my [temporary] friend [of convenience].

  4. Probably because the rate cases, outside of the pass-through fuel charges, are used to build out the facilities approved under Xcel's Clean Energy Plan.  No rate increases = no new thousand of MW's of wind, solar and battery along with the transmission lines to deliver the power to the Front Range. 

    Americans for Prosperity would prefer that Xcel keep rates low by relying on depreciated coal and gas plants in the current fleet.

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