Regulatory Capture

Two words a NYT editor needs to learn.  It's why utilities spend money on donations, lobbyists and dishonest public relations campaigns.  The utility is buying influence with regulators and legislators and setting up "cover" to make it look like their decisions are made in the interest of customers.  The utility is governing itself with the blessing of complicit lawmakers and government officials who spend way too much time getting chummy with their sugar daddies.

Taken together, these and other cases demonstrate that too many power and gas companies have sought to exercise undue influence over the governments that nominally control them. Utilities spend lavishly on campaign contributions, dinners, hunting trips for politicians and more. They set up fake citizens’ groups to support their undertakings. And they have been known to ply nonprofit community organizations with “donations” to take public stances that favor the utility — and against the real interests of the people these organizations ostensibly represent.

"Fake citizens' groups" aka front groups have been around since the days of the big tobacco fights.  Ditto the legitimate organizations who sell their support in exchange for utility "donations" that fund them.  It's nothing new.  It's not something that just cropped up in recent years to fight "climate change."  What is different is the new deep state interest in these tactics that has resulted in federal investigations, arrests and indictments.  Why is it that the recent interest in this old playbook seems to be centered around state nuclear bailout legislation?  When are these investigations going to truly serve the people, instead of a political agenda?

The NYT editorial was plodding along swimmingly until the editor just had to toss in the clean energy angle.  Why, if you didn't know better, you may think that only "dirty" fossil fuel companies use these tactics.  Nothing could be further from the truth!  They all do it!  Dirty electrons do not make dirty politics.  Corporate greed makes dirty politics.  "Clean" renewable energy companies use some of the dirtiest politics yet to capture regulators and legislators.

How about if I told you that utilities are using YOUR MONEY to finance their outlandishly expensive persuasive advertising campaigns, their fake "grassroots" front groups, and their supportive public comments?

Stay tuned... it's about to get real in here...