THE RECENT MAJOR power outages in Texas can be viewed as isolated to the particular political and electric power system design in that state, but that would be a mistake. Let’s first put aside Gov. Greg Abbott’s unfounded blame for the problems on the use of renewables in the state. In fact, of the 46,000 […]
Paul F. Levy
Posted inOpinion
Why it’s often difficult to follow your doctor
THE INCREASING CORPORATIZATION of health care systems in Massachusetts—with mergers, acquisitions, and the like—raises a slew of issues regarding the market power implications of industry concentration. Many of those are dealt with by the Health Policy Commission and the attorney general in roles spelled out under state law. But one aspect of corporate behavior remains […]
Posted inOpinion
The state’s social contract with utilities
THE ONGOING LOCKOUT of about 1,250 workers by National Grid raises important conflicts between the provisions of labor law and the statutes governing the public service obligations of the state’s utilities. While it is not generally appropriate for the state’s Department of Public Utilities to take over and run a utility, the DPU does have […]
Posted inOpinion
Has the Mass. solar gamble paid off?
HOW MUCH SHOULD we pay to promote solar energy in Massachusetts? Recent state government programs have resulted in the commitment of at least $10 billion of consumer funds—well over $1,500 for every man, woman, and child in the state. Is there a need for more government-directed subsidization, or have we reached a point of diminishing […]
Posted inOpinion
Here’s why more nurses don’t mean better care
IS A VOTE FOR QUESTION 1, which sets mandatory nurse-to-patient ratios, a vote for safer care in hospitals? At first blush, it might appear so. How can it be otherwise that prescribing specific numbers of nurses per patient be anything other than good for patients? But such a conclusion is not only simplistic, but likely […]
Posted inOpinion
Could electricity become too cheap to meter?
YEARS AGO, DURING AN ERA in which nuclear power had great promise, advocates for this energy form said that it would produce electricity “too cheap to meter.” While that prediction did not provide a useful preview of the future of nuclear power, the economic premise behind it had some merit. While each nuclear power plant […]