National Public Radio has been an advertisement-free citizens' service for over 30 years, or would be except that it isn't. There are "underwriters' announcements" in lieu of the loud, obnoxious, screaming ads one hears on commercial radio. These have rarely stirred controversy for anyone but far-left wackos of the sort who believe Pacifica has turned conservative. But in recent weeks a new underwriter's announcement has been extolling the efforts of Duke Energy, and especially in California these have rankled listeners.
I have to confess I am strongly biased regarding the energy situation in California. Houston-based Enron and Reliant, and multinational corporations PG&E and SoCal Edison, all lobbied and helped to write the electricity deregulation law that was signed by Republican Governor Pete Wilson and went into effect in the late 90s. Among the strategically designed ill consequences of the law is the opening of California's electricity supply market to any producer, and the restriction on intra-state utilities from owning electic plants in other states. That effectively split companies like PG&E into a corporate branch owning out-of-state assets (producing plants in PG&E's case) and in-state "distributors." There are, per Enron, Reliant and the rest of these bullies' legislative demands, no limits on the wholesale cost of electricity, but strict limits on distributors' retail prices. That's why PG&E's California distributor branch went bankrupt: it owed PG&E corporation, and Reliant, and Enron, and Duke, and especially big banks, billions of bucks. It might not make sense to you that PG&E could be in debt to PG&E, but it made a whole lot of sense to the chairmen of Enron, Reliant, Duke, and even PG&E.
Now the producers and distributors are blaming the law they wrote, and Governor Gray Davis, who had nothing to do with forming the legislation, for the insanity that is ensuing now. Among the rottenest has been Duke Energy, which has purchased a big pile of California electricity plants and refused to generate power in the state, complaining that California's environmental protections are too severe to make a profit. It's not nonsense: it's a lie. Duke has been using California's environmental laws as a pollution shelter by trading pollution credits in California for pollution permits in North Carolina. (One of the more astounding aspects of the energy situation in California is that all of this is a matter of public record, through a continual stream of exposes in the San Francisco Chronicle and the Los Angeles Times, yet no one seems to have noticed, and we keep wringing our hands and shouting out "How did this happen?!")
So when Duke Energy underwrites NPR programs and has an announcer tell its worldwide audience that Duke is providing "energy solutions for the 21st century," it serves as a cover story, an alibi. When Duke execs are on trial next year for fraud and conspiracy, they'll say "'tweren't us! Schucks, we were all ou-chere in Nawth Carolahna makin' juice for them fine folks yondah in Cal-i-for-ny-a!"
There's also something strange about the ad, especially the ad as an underwriter's announcement on NPR. That's high-brow branding ad, seeking to associate the Duke Energy name with a certain atmosphere or feeling for the product. But here, the product is electricity, which has no qualities other than being on or off. An energy "solution" would seem to mean the the power is on. But - follow me here - Duke Energy's "solution" to California's power situation is to not generate electricity, and that will help to lead later this summer to about 20 hours a week of the power being off.
What they've done is really masterful, and Duke should definitely keep the PR firm they're working with. They're giving a brand to a product that has absolutely no different characteristics from one producer to the next, tauting solutions that are a direct cause of the problem, and giving the corporation a good name by subsidizing NPR. It's a total and complete obfuscation of Duke's corporate and social values!
But wait - there's more! Recently, as Doc Nagel was driving home listening to NPR, the news announcer reported the findings of an investigation by the Charlotte Observer. Duke Energy had been selling electricity to California's grid for $3800 per megawatt-hour, energy that would sell for under $100 in other markets in the East. Duke explained this wasn't price gouging, but the result of a "surcharge" imposed on California because Duke didn't expect to be paid. Well of course not! Who can afford to pay $3800 for a megawatt of power?? Geez, they're right! They should probably add another surcharge to cover not being paid the surcharge.
And of course, immediately following the report, the underwriter's announcement came on: "News on NPR is made possible by Duke Energy. Duke: supplying energy solutions."