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Fast Track To Public Rail Electrification

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For as comprehensive and massive as this energy/transportation proposal is, there is still one more major component of it that has not received much attention.  That component is energy conservation.  In fact, that may be the first component to be implemented because it requires no funding and no time to build.   <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p> Conservation may begin as soon as next year after congress passes an energy bill.  One of the centerpiece features of this legislation will be cap-and-trade.  Without discussing the pros and cons of this curious mechanism, what is objectively clear is that it will raise the cost of energy derived from all non-renewable sources.  Therefore it will reduce energy consumption by raising its cost. <o:p></o:p> Conservation sounds timid, but when driven by price rationing, it will be a very potent component in the campaign for national sustainability.  And all it requires is a new law.  Just look what happens to driving when gasoline rises to $4 per gallon.  Think how much energy could be saved if every household in the U.S. reduced electricity use by 20%.  There is easily enough elasticity in consumption for that amount of reduction to occur.  The only reason that it has not is that it has not been forced by price yet.  A reduction of residential consumption of that magnitude could easily liberate enough electrical capacity to electrify the railroads, even if they were expanded to include HSR and to assume substantial truck haulage.    <o:p></o:p> The so-called smart grid will further refine this pricing/conservation principle of cap-and-trade by managing electric consumption according to the necessity of how it is used.  The smart grid knows what you plug in or turn on, and how necessary it is.  The smart grid then sets the price accordingly.  It also sets the price according to periods of high and low collective average demand.  It can encourage conservation by raising the price as your total rate of consumption increases.  This is the future of energy distribution, however, it is a physical infrastructure system that will have to be built and paid for.  It is called a smart grid because of the stinging pain it can deliver when you open your electric bill.
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