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Enron Mail |
THE FRIDAY BURRITO=20
How many of you believe in telekinesis? Raise my hand...=20 Last week I was in a rare mood.? Before I wrote last week's Burrito, I spen= t=20 the better part of Thursday afternoon with my wife sipping wine in Napa=20 Valley.? Considering the volume of e-mail in response to last week's editio= n,=20 I should do more drinking, and less worrying.? But I do worry.? For example= ,=20 my wife wants to buy a new car, and this makes me think about one of my=20 favorite lines, "Get a new car for your spouse - it'll be a great trade!"?= =20 But I haven't told her that because she has a fairly decent left jab;=20 typically to my head. I drive a 1993 Ford Taurus that has 50k miles.? It=20 looks like hell, and gets me to where I want to go.? My wife wants a new=20 Jaguar, top of the line, faster than a bullet.? I was telling this story to= =20 our WPTF counsel, Dan Douglass, who asked, "I don't get it.? You are drivin= g=20 a beat up old Ford, and your wife is getting a new Jaguar?? How does that= =20 work?"? It's not too hard to explain.? You see, my wife works in Palo Alto,= =20 about 5 miles from our house, whereas I operate the world headquarters of= =20 this pirate trade association from my "home" office.? Each work morning, we= =20 like to arrive at our respective offices at the same time =01( in about 3.5= =20 seconds.? Now if that makes sense to you, then maybe you can explain how an= d=20 why the State of California thinks it can grow 1000 MWs of peaker generatio= n=20 from seed to flower in five months.=20 None of the above has much to do with the electricity crisis, but it is a f= ar=20 more enjoyable conversation.? In fact, this week needs a good slug of humor= .=20 Therefore, I have expanded the Odds & Ends (_!_) section to include more=20 stories and jokes.? We deserve it.=20 I get about six calls a day from newspaper reporters, and they always ask m= e=20 at the outset a tough question, "How are you?"? I'm never sure.? All the=20 other questions are easy, but the How-Are-You question usually trips me up.= =20 One of our members called me and asked if I had heard about Steve Peace's= =20 quote placing the Texas State Flag on top of the California State Capital??= I=20 had, but I discouraged the caller from sending Peace a Texas Flag as a=20 prank.? I suggested, instead, sending the Senator a pair of boxer briefs wi= th=20 the emblem of Texas as the pattern.? We could put a note in the box, "Don't= =20 put your ass in Texas."? Does anyone have a connection on where we can get= =20 the goods?=20 Our Governor and his staff are actively negotiating the purchase of the=20 transmission systems from the state's three utilities.? Today the LA Times= =20 reported that PG&E is being obdurate, whereas SCE and SDG&E are being helpf= ul=20 in the negotiations.? Why does this sound familiar to me?? Most people say= =20 the negotiations are stalled.? The Governor says he will announce a deal=20 today, this Friday.? The Governor and the rest of the world never seem to b= e=20 on the same page.=20 In the meantime, I am learning all about pre-petition credit committees, an= d=20 how they operate.? My hopes are modest for a clean solution to the financia= l=20 woes of the California market.? On the other hand, consider all the new=20 things I am learning.? For example, the difference between a secured and=20 unsecured creditor has become quite clear.? If you hold a mortgage bond, th= en=20 you are a secured creditor.? If you are an electric generator or marketer w= ho=20 sold to the ISO or to the PX, then you are unsecured.? If you have a pictur= e=20 of a utility executive (think male) coming out of a motel room with women= =20 other than his spouse, then you are a secured creditor.? If you are a=20 consumer, taxpayer, and a voter, then you are screwed. As one financial=20 advisor told me, there are only two sources of revenue to make up the=20 shortage of money: rate increases and the sale of assets.? Then the advisor= =20 said, think of the money from those funding sources like water at the top o= f=20 Yosemite Falls.? As the money cascades down like falling water, secured=20 creditors are near the top and get very wet.? Unsecured creditors are near= =20 the bottom, and might only get some mist in their face. It all depends how= =20 much water is running over the precipice.=20 If the state doesn't offer "enough" money for the assets, then I expect the= =20 unsecured creditors will be like Yosemite tourists at the bottom of the Fal= ls=20 after a dry summer.? The mist spray will be a figment of one's imagination.= ?=20 If the state condemns the transmission assets, then there will be a long an= d=20 protracted court settlement regarding the fair market value of the assets.?= =20 Not a good outcome if you were expecting to get paid soon. Alternatively, i= f=20 the state said to all the generators, "How about 50? on the dollar for each= =20 dollar we owe you?", I doubt there would be many takers.=20 The secured creditors, by the way, are going to be patient, so it seems.? T= he=20 bond underwriters place billions of dollars of bond issues, and they are no= t=20 too excited about upsetting the State of California.? Could get in the way = of=20 future business because the state does issue quite a lot of bonds, and the= =20 underwriting fees are good.? So, I don't expect the bond-holders to pull th= e=20 trigger anytime soon.=20 If you thought I was drawing a conclusion based on the discussion above, th= en=20 think again. A conclusion is the place where you rest because you got tired= =20 of thinking.=20 Here is this week's menu.=20 Things in the People's Republic of California=20 ?@@@ LA Times Poll Shows We Have Met the Enemy, and It Is Us=20 ?@@@ APX Opens Discussions on a New Transmission Market=20 ?@@@ Some Nasty Legislation=20 Responses to Last Week's Burrito=20 Jobs and People=20 Odds & Ends (_!_)=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=20 Things in the People's Republic of California=20 ?@@@ LA Times Poll Shows We Have Met the Enemy, and It Is Us=20 Last Sunday, the LA Times published the results of a poll they conducted on= =20 579 Californians, all over the state.? I encourage you to read the survey.?= =20 It's available at http://www.latimes.com/news/state/20010218/t000014901.htm= l=20 .? The bottom line is that Californians are mixed up about the electricity= =20 crisis in ways that I could have not predicted.=20 For example, the Governor gets the highest marks relative to all other=20 players.? His approval rating has gone up from January (29% approval rating= )=20 to 49% in February!? However, the 16% approval rating of the PUC is the=20 lowest among the Gov., the legislature, the utilities, and even President= =20 Bush. The PUC is a tool of the Governor, but apparently that is a secret on= ly=20 known to the several thousands of us in the regulated power business (There= ,=20 there Ms. Lynch.? They really love you, but they just don't understand you.= ).=20 No telling where merchant generators and power marketers might have placed= =20 had our names been on the list, although I am sure it would be at the low e= nd=20 of the curve.=20 More than half of those surveyed do not believe there is an actual shortage= =20 of electricity in California!!!!? The response to that issue was the same= =20 last month, and has changed very little.? Can someone explain this attitude= =20 to me?? I don't get it.? What do you have to do to convince Californians th= at=20 we are short on capacity? Thirty days in a row of Stage 3 alerts doesn't do= =20 it.? I do not believe that anyone reading the LA Times, say, on a regular= =20 basis for the last month would conclude that there is no electricity=20 shortage.? That means few people are reading newspapers for their=20 information.? The rest of the folks get their information from TV, word of= =20 mouth, comic books or =01(.? Stunning result.=20 Oddly enough, the public doesn't think too highly of long-term power=20 contracts, very little about nuclear power, but they do favor, by a margin = of=20 three out of four, more thermal power plants. They would be willing to see= =20 such facilities built and operating in their own communities.=20 In summary, the Gov. is up, the Legislature down, the shortage is=20 non-existent, we need more power plants, there is a bailout of the utilitie= s=20 but that is okay, and people are conserving more than ever.? Is it any=20 wonder, then, that the legislation we see emanating from the State Capital = is=20 so mixed up.? We are mixed up. What are you going to do about us?=20 Things in the People's Republic of California=20 ?@@@ APX Opens Discussions on a New Transmission Market=20 Automated Power Exchange (APX), now under the helm of new CEO John Yurkanin= =20 held a one-day seminar on the development of a new market to replace the no= w=20 defunct PX adjustment bid market.? Adjustment bids, for those of you that d= o=20 not trade or schedule in California, are economic signals to the ISO about= =20 one's willingness to adjust your schedule to satisfy transmission constrain= ts=20 at various transmission bottlenecks on the ISO's grid. APX has provided us= =20 with a thoughtful instrument for managing transmission congestion.? I=20 attended the meeting, and my take away was that APX is proposing an energy= =20 market that allows different parties to be matched for the purpose of=20 adjusting energy deliveries on either side of a transmission constraint.? I= t=20 looks very much like the InterSC Adjustment Bid market that market=20 participants so desperately wanted but never received from the ISO.? The=20 beauty, here, however, is that all the InterSC adjustment bids fall under o= ne=20 portfolio, APX's, that allows the ISO to maintain the market separation=20 constraint.=20 Another benefit provided by APX's new market is the scheduling of RMR units= .?=20 John Stremel of APX told us that the CAISO can contribute to the APX market= =20 if there is a feature to instruct the RMR units.? The ISO could place their= =20 orders through the APX market if the RMR units are willing to submit=20 adjustment bids in the same.? So doing would give much needed, and now lost= =20 price transparency.=20 Nothing is free, except grief and heartache, and we all have enough of that= .?=20 APX needs funders to get their market off the ground.? I have heard several= =20 people grumble about the sales pitch, but let's face it.? We have been=20 complaining for years that the PX was forced on us, the ISO's CONG model wa= s=20 forced on us, and the RMR dispatch was forced on us.? Now that for the firs= t=20 time we have an opportunity to exercise choice, I find it ironic that peopl= e=20 are fumbling over the dollars.? The way the ISO is currently handling=20 congestion management, with no or few adjustment bids, wreaks havoc on the= =20 energy markets.? APX is at least giving us a chance to fix that, and do mor= e.=20 ?=20 If you support the APX market in concept, then call John Stremel and tell h= im=20 408.517.2120, <jstremel@apx.com<.? If money is a problem, then call him and= =20 tell him that too.? Let's get creative and demonstrate to those who doubt o= ur=20 ability to pull ourselves up by the bootstrap that we are able and willing = to=20 do so.=20 ?=20 Things in the People's Republic of California=20 ?@@@ Some Nasty Legislation=20 On the heels of the major pieces of legislation enacted in the last few=20 weeks, we have the "me too" bills that are absolutely nauseating. Here are= =20 short summaries of two legislative turds that simply demonstrate what can= =20 occur when you have too many law makers taking on too few crises.=20 SB 39x (Speier - D) - This bill would make facilities that have been deemed= =20 exempt wholesale generators by FERC become public utilities subject to CPUC= =20 jurisdiction. It would authorize the CPUC to ensure that generators located= =20 in California are operated in a manner that assures their availability to= =20 maintain reliability.? It would allow the CPUC to issue orders and directiv= es=20 as it deems necessary to accomplish this.? It would authorize the CPUC to= =20 prevent the exercise of market power by prohibiting economic or physical=20 withholding.? The bill would also authorize the CPUC to prescribe inspectio= n,=20 maintenance, and operating practices and procedures for any generator to=20 ensure the public health and safety , reliability and adequacy of the syste= m.=20 AB 60x - Herztberg - D) - This bill would require as a condition of receivi= ng=20 a CEC certification (for new or re-power) the applicant to offer to sell to= =20 California IOU's, Municipal utilities, or DWR, at just and reasonable cost= =20 based price, electrical power generated from the facility.? It would also= =20 prohibit the operation of the facility until a maintenance and outage=20 schedule has been approved by the CEC.? A violation of this would be a=20 criminal act.=20 Responses to Last Week's Burrito=20 Always helpful and friendly, Ms. Sheryl Lambertson from PPL Montana (Butte)= =20 wrote to me about my idea to send California's teen population to Montana.?= =20 She said, "I personally invite your son to spend the summer with me.?=20 However, 6 million teenagers in a state with a population of less than a=20 million!!!!!? I think we could potentially have power shortages though I'm= =20 sure Montana would do a great job of managing them.? I think we can take on= e=20 more teenager but we'll leave it at that."=20 Phil Muller of SCD Solutions offered the following in response to Dr. Davis= '=20 Cure for What Ails Us, "Now that our distinguished governor has finally=20 announced his plan to save the utilities by taking over their transmission= =20 systems in exchange for paying some of their operating expenses, I can see= =20 the long term plan.? First, continue to stall resolution of the credit=20 situation while generators continue to sell to the ISO with no immediate=20 prospect of getting paid.? Second, cap QF payments at the "just and=20 reasonable" price of $67/MWh.? Third, offer to "bail out" all the generator= s=20 by having the state pay a portion of what they're owed in exchange for=20 turning their power plants over to the state.? It looks like Gray learned= =20 business from John D Rockefeller.? Force your competitors' prices below cos= t=20 until they're forced to sell out to you.? Once you own everything you can s= et=20 your own just and reasonable prices depending on whether you're running for= =20 election or not.? This shouldn't be a problem since the state is not subjec= t=20 to anti-trust laws."=20 Long-time friend Bill Metcalfe in Salt Lake City offered the following=20 response to the WPTF seven-point solution.? He wrote, "Price is always a=20 factor for the individual consumer and some commercial establishments who c= an=20 exercise discretionary conservation but may only discourage/encourage=20 industrial expansion.? Price must reflect the pure mechanics of supply and= =20 demand.? Therefore, the health of the California economy is closely linked = to=20 the ability to build capacity that will yield a price reflective of our=20 desires for industrial competitiveness and growth.=20 "The more we move to State control and the Governor's plan, the more=20 difficult this all becomes and the costs - well....=20 "The Dedicated Rate Component (DRC) should provide the necessary incentive= =20 for consumer conservation.? Industry may just close up shop when seeing thi= s=20 and considering the future.=20 "As you said, "(this) is like a hungry monster that chews up politicians an= d=20 spits them out after sucking the political marrow from their bones."? Watch= =20 out for quick and seemingly painless fixes - the damage of the past ills do= es=20 cost." Finally, I received a very thoughtful note from Nancy Day, my personal=20 advisor (although she doesn't know that, but I listen very closely to=20 everything she tells me).? You should, too.? Here is what she wrote:=20 "I want to offer my thoughts on the Governor's plan and make a few=20 suggestions.? When Mike Peevey [Note: Peevey was Nancy's former business=20 partner in the firm New Energy Ventures] was named 'advisor', I sent him th= e=20 following words of encouragement:? 'do no harm.'? Now I ask you, will the= =20 Governor's plan 'do no harm?'? If the answer is yes, work with your members= =20 and the utilities to fix the gigantic holes in the cost recovery portion of= =20 the plan.? Although I agree with you that the simplest way to fix what ails= =20 us is to allow the utilities to recover their electricity purchase costs --= =20 evidently that approach carries with it too much political baggage.? So, ho= w=20 can we make the Governor's plan work?? Be prepared with talking points that= =20 all of your members can use in their discussions with the press, with other= =20 'lobbyists' and with the leadership in the legislature (Burton, Hertzberg, = et=20 al.).=20 "Here are my suggestions on points you may want to cover:=20 1) How much does the State really believe the utilities are owed for past= =20 electricity purchases -- is the number $12 billion?? If so, what amortizati= on=20 period is being assumed in the calculation of the rate increase?? How much = of=20 a rate increase will be required just to cover that past debt?? Is there=20 enough "headroom" in the utilities' rates to cover the ongoing cost of=20 electricity (both the utilities own generation and the DWR purchases that= =20 have to be passed on to consumers)?=20 2) Since existing rates are predicated on the authorized return on the=20 underlying book value (is this number $1 billion?)? of the Transmission=20 assets, will the rates have to increase to cover the State's capital costs = (I=20 am assuming that the State will have to pay "market value" for the purchase= =20 of Transmission -- plus invest another $1 billion to eliminate congestion a= nd=20 add transmission where it is needed) and the new administrative bureaucracy= =20 to oversee their new assets.? Even with the State's lower cost of capital,= =20 won't rates have to go up to pay off the bonds and pay salaries to the new= =20 bureaucrats?? I am also assuming that the Democrats will not eliminate the= =20 existing Union employee infrastructure of the utilities who will maintain t= he=20 system under contract to the State and will therefore not save any money on= =20 O&M.=20 3) The State believes that purchase of the Transmission grid will remove FE= RC=20 "interference" and they can leverage their asset ownership to bring=20 generators to their knees.?? Is this a valid assumption?? Won't the State= =20 have to comply with FERCs Order 888 requiring open=20 access/non-discrimination??? I assume the only relief from FERC oversight= =20 will come in the form of no rate cases?? Who will oversee the economics of= =20 the new Bureaucracy -- the CPUC -- not a chance?? The EOB?? The ISO?? The n= ew=20 CUBA??? Will this new bureaucracy look and feel just like the ISO whose=20 ongoing costs of operation continue to spiral skyward??? 4) Are there some potential benefits to State ownership of the Transmission= =20 grid?? Will the State be capable of acting more quickly than the utilities= =20 that would be forced to litigate potential transmission expansion before on= e=20 or more regulatory bodies before any project can go forward?? Is the State = in=20 a better position to work with Transmission builders in Canada and Mexico t= o=20 coordinate the expansion of systems there?? Or, like Cal Trans, is the Stat= e=20 likely to be just as crippled as the utilities because they have their own= =20 set of bureaucratic handcuffs that keep progress stifled and slowed?=20 5) If we are going to buy into the Governor's plan -- should we hold out fo= r=20 reforms that will be needed to create viable retail competition?? I am told= =20 that the reason the "no more direct access" provision was added to AB 1X, w= as=20 at the insistence of the Department of Finance.? Finance was afraid that DW= R=20 would contract to buy firm energy for Californian's and they would abandon= =20 the State in favor of a retail competitor.? One way to resolve this problem= =20 is to require very large customers (could we define the criteria) to stay= =20 with their retail competitor for a least 12 months so that DWR will have=20 ample opportunity to adjust their purchases to track the changes.? Without= =20 viable retail competition the utilities must continue to suffer under=20 hindsight reasonableness reviews.? I believe, if customers (all customers= =20 including residential) had viable retail alternatives, we could let the=20 utilities buy whatever they wanted and pass those costs through to their=20 customers with no regulatory oversight (no profit on generation sales).? If= =20 the utilities retail generation costs get out of line with competitors'=20 offers, the customers will have the unfettered ability to switch.=20 "Gary, the only way we will be able to survive this next legislative=20 onslaught will be to fix what is wrong.? It will be impossible to derail th= e=20 train."=20 Jobs and People=20 I guess one of the low points this week was the letter a number of us=20 received from Green Mountain's Julie Blunden.? In her letter she says, "Mos= t=20 of you aware of the profound changes that have occurred in California's=20 electricity markets and political stage over the past nine months. Those=20 changes have touched our customers, our partners and our team. I am writing= =20 to tell you of my very difficult decision to leave Green Mountain Energy. "As a result of the state of the market in California, our team out here wi= ll=20 need to reflect the lower level of market activity. At this time, it's=20 appropriate for me to move on to the next set of challenges. It has been my= =20 privilege to work with my teammates in California and a pleasure watching o= ur=20 company grow and attract a large set of talented people.=20 "I feel fortunate to be able to hand the baton to Rick Counihan.? I will be= =20 working on the transition with Rick through March 16th. After that, you can= =20 continue to reach me at 415-902-5313, or blunden@hotmail.com."=20 Julie, you will be missed. I first met you at a PUC all parties meeting wit= h=20 Commissioner Conlon, way back in 1996, or so.? I can't remember the topic.?= =20 At that meeting you where so soft spoken, but nevertheless forceful.? First= =20 impressions being misleading, as always, I thought you were some kind of tr= ee=20 hugger, if you know what I mean.? But over time I found your comments to be= =20 truly insightful, meaningful, interesting, and relevant.? You are a leader,= =20 and one of the few females, besides Avista's Linda Hamilton, who likes to= =20 tour power plants.? I hope our professional paths cross again, soon.? Good= =20 luck to you in all your endeavors.=20 Rob Lamkin of Mirant (used to be Southern Energy, but now you must learn ho= w=20 to pronounce Mirant.? It sounds like mirror with an ant.) is searching=20 talented people.? Rob writes, "As you know, I am looking to hire a few=20 regulatory people.? Any suggestions?? Please post in the next Burrito."?=20 Done, buddy.? Rob's phone number is 925-287-3102, and his e-mail address is= =20 rllamkin@seiworldwide.com .=20 Seth Wilson, formerly of the Cal PX is looking for employment.? He is an=20 excellent analyst, he has over 20 years experience in electricity and gas= =20 market negotiating energy contracts, and energy risk management.? He has bo= th=20 municipal and investor-owned utility experience in resource planning, asset= =20 evaluation, load forecasting and demand-side management.? He is very=20 effective communicating at all management levels, and to present informatio= n=20 and recommendations to corporate officers, board members and regulators. I= =20 would encourage anyone interested in talking to Seth to call him at (909)= =20 653-6045 Cell: (626) 487-9046 <esethwilson@yahoo.com=20 Odds & Ends (_!_)=20 Paul Gribik, formerly of Perot Systems, and now a consultant with PA=20 Consulting handed me a great compliment.? He said the Friday Burrito was li= ke=20 a breath of fresh air each week.? He also said the Burrito was like driving= =20 on Highway 5 between the Grapevine and Stockton where the only relief from= =20 the bleak landscape is the Harris Ranch.? The Burrito is the Harris Ranch.?= I=20 asked Paul if he wasn=01,t confusing the Harris Ranch with the mountain of = cow=20 crap (talk about a breath of fresh air) 10 miles north of the Harris Ranch = in=20 Coalinga?? He said, no.? The sight and smell of the cow station only remind= ed=20 him of things going on in Sacramento.? Fair enough.=20 Sister Camden Collins clipped a good one from USA Today.? Check it out:=20 "It was reported in the USA Today that Governor Davis' secret weapon in the= =20 design of these innovative solutions is Jerry Springer. There will be a Jer= ry=20 Springer show on the negotiations and resolutions later this month entitled= =20 Politicians That Love Mud Wrestling with Themselves."=20 Finally, my bud from Modesto, Ken Weisel sent me this gem with which we wil= l=20 close out the week.=20 What is electricity?=20 Today's scientific question is: What in the world is electricity? And where= =20 does it go after it leaves the toaster?? Here is a simple experiment that= =20 will teach you an important electrical? lesson:=20 On a cool, dry day, scuff your feet along a carpet, then reach your hand in= to=20 a friend's mouth and touch one of his dental fillings.? Did you notice how= =20 your friend twitched violently and cried out in pain?=20 This teaches us that electricity can be a very powerful force, but we must= =20 never use it to hurt others unless we need to learn an important electrical= =20 lesson.? It also teaches us how an electrical circuit works. When you scuff= ed=20 your feet, you picked up batches of "electrons," which are very small objec= ts=20 that carpet manufacturers weave into carpet so that they will attract dirt.= =20 The electrons travel through your bloodstream and collect in your finger,= =20 where they form a spark that leaps to your friend's filling, then travels= =20 down to his feet and back into the carpet, thus completing the circuit.=20 AMAZING ELECTRIC FACT: If you scuffed your feet long enough without touchin= g=20 anything, you would build up so many electrons that your finger would=20 explode! But this is nothing to worry about unless you have carpeting.=20 Although we modern persons tend to take our electric lights, radios, mixers= ,=20 etc. for granted, hundreds of years ago people did not have any of these=20 things, which is just as well because there was no place to plug them in.= =20 Then along came the first Electrical Pioneer, Benjamin Franklin, who flew a= =20 kite in a lightning storm and received a serious electrical shock. This=20 proved that lightning was powered by the same force as carpets, but it also= =20 damaged Franklin's brain so severely that he started speaking only in=20 incomprehensible maxims, such as, "A penny saved is a penny earned."=20 Eventually he had to be given a job running the post office.=20 After Franklin came a herd of Electrical Pioneers whose names have become= =20 part of our electrical terminology: Myron Volt, Mary Louise Amp,? James Wat= t,=20 Bob Transformer, etc. These pioneers conducted many important electrical=20 experiments - Among them, Galvani discovered (this is the truth) that when = he=20 attached two different kinds of metal to the leg of a frog, an electrical= =20 current developed and the frog's leg kicked, even though it was no longer= =20 attached to the frog, which was dead anyway. Galvani's discovery led to=20 enormous advances in the field of amphibian medicine. Today, skilled=20 veterinary surgeons can take a frog that has been seriously injured or=20 killed, implant pieces of metal in its muscles, and watch it hop back into= =20 the pond just like a normal frog, except for the fact that it sinks like a= =20 stone.=20 But the greatest Electrical Pioneer of them all was Thomas Edison, who was = a=20 brilliant inventor despite the fact that he had little formal education and= =20 lived in New Jersey. Edison's first major invention in 1877 was the=20 phonograph, which could soon be found in thousand of American homes, where = it=20 basically sat until 1923, when the record was invented. But Edison's greate= st=20 achievement came in 1879 when he invented the electric company.? Edison's= =20 design was a brilliant adoption of the simple electrical circuit: The=20 electric company sends electricity through a wire to a customer, then=20 immediately gets the electricity back through another wire, then (this is t= he=20 brilliant part) sends it right back to the customer again.=20 This means that an electric company can sell a customer the same batch of= =20 electricity thousands of times a day and never get caught, since very few= =20 customers take the time to examine their electricity closely. In fact, the= =20 last year any new electricity was generated was 1937; the electric companie= s=20 have been merely re-selling it ever since, which is why they have so much= =20 time to apply for rate increases.=20 Today, thanks to men like Edison and Franklin, and frogs like Galvani's, we= =20 receive almost unlimited benefits from electricity. For example, in the pas= t=20 decade scientists have developed the laser, an electronic appliance, so=20 powerful that it can vaporize a bulldozer 2000 yards away, yet so precise= =20 that doctors can use it to perform delicate operations to the human eyeball= ,=20 provided they remember to change the power setting from "Vaporize Bulldozer= "=20 to "Delicate."=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =20 Okay, I've got my TV set tuned to "vaporize killer tomatoes".? Have a great= =20 weekend.=20 gba=20 ?
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