This headline from the Financial Times caught my eye this morning: “China Forced to Ration Energy.” Due to the increased cost of coal, many provinces are starting to ration electricity earlier than usual. The supply chain disruptions in Japan are also a result of problems with the electric grid. It’s not just an issue regarding the source of fuel; much of the world’s electric generation infrastructure is outdated
and overloaded. I expect that we will see more outages and rolling blackouts in this country as well. All of this underscores the need for a comprehensive energy policy, and demonizing the energy industry is not a productive route for this critical debate.