That Subsidy Could Have Bought An Awful Lot of New Power Plants

The Detroit News: Germany to spend billions to tackle high energy prices

Green dreams tend to end up in power supply nightmares, don't they?

Germany plans to spend up to 200 billion euros ($195 billion) helping consumers and businesses cope with surging energy prices, particularly for natural gas, due to the war in Ukraine.

Note this doesn't actually tackle high energy prices and does nothing to address the supply issue, it merely papers over it for consumers and has the government pay for the increase that is due to lousy planning on the German government's part when it comes to energy.  It's just a lot of spent money to kick the can down the road and not address the problem.

At approximately $4 Billion per reactor in construction costs (Nuclear power plants apparently are very expensive to build but relatively inexpensive to run), that money could have built 48 Nuclear plants and had money left over for operations of them.

Pity Germany embraced outsourcing its power generation and power supplies to a rather unreliable supplier in Russia.  

Even better, remember how they smirked and outright laughed at Trump when he noted their reliance on Russian gas was a bad idea. Who is laughing now?

Can Anyone In The Biden Administration Do Math Or Economics?

Biden has announced that the U.S. to sell up to 45 mln bbls oil from reserve as part of historic release (Reuters).

Here's why it's not going to be more than a blip in gas prices and is just plain dumb.

Prior to Covid, the U.S. field production of crude oil, wast 13 million barrels per day of crude oil before the pandemic, we are now only at 11.655 million barrels per day.

US production is now short about 1.3 million barrels per day, every day.  That means we're short about 39 million barrels per month in US production alone, so the 45 million barrel release doesn't do much at all for the worldwide market in oil, much less our own domestic market, and it just covers the shortfall in production for a month and a few days -- without addressing all the other demand factors involved nor the fact that demand isn't going to drop after that month.

The Biden administration, instead of flashily selling off a reserve meant for a national emergency, and instead of blocking oil and gas development at every turn in the US, should instead be encouraging production to ensure an actual longer term easing of prices and reduced reliance on foreign oil.

Unfortunately that goes against their greenie and Democrat policies and beliefs that oil production is bad and higher prices are a good thing, so they're not going to take steps that might actually improve the situation.

But, hey, aren't you glad there's no more mean tweets every time you fill your tank?

Gov Half-Whit: I Will Veto State Gas Tax Abatement

As I suspected and expected, Governor Whitmer has never seen a tax she didn't like, nor any legislation that would prevent her from tinkering with taxing and spending to buy votes.

The Detroit News: Michigan gas-tax suspension bill could be headed for veto

Instead of broad-based relief, Whitmer wants targeted tax breaks to those most likely to vote for her and not for all the citizens of this state who she is supposed to represent.

The lovely double standard of requesting federal broad based abatement of the federal gas tax while refusing to do the same that is in her power  at the state level is truly excellent,

If it wasn't for double standards, Gov. Whitmer would have none at all.

The Michigan Republicans better capitalize on this veto, her refusal to provide real relief and her ongoing double standard that sticks it to every Michigan resident in the election campaign.

Michigan Republicans Put Gov Half-Whit Into A Gas Tax Dilemma

So Gov. Whitmer asked the Feds to abate the Federal Gas Tax of 18.3 cents a gallon in a transparent effort to appear that she's doing something for Michigan drivers, and indeed everyone in mcihgian as everything is transported somewhere.

Michigan House Republicans just did her one better by introducing and passing legislation to suspend the Michigan Gas Tax of 27+ cents a gallon:

The Detroit News: House approves 6-month pause of Michigan's 27-cent per gallon gas tax

No worries though, Michigan will still be getting over 24 cents a gallon in sales tax.  Too bad that wasn't abated as well.

This puts Whitmer in quite a dilemma:  Rather hard for her to veto the legislation considering she just pushed for the Feds to do what Republicans are asking the State to do - and this would bring more relief than a federal abatement.

But, Whitmer does love her taxes, and wants to spend the State fisc on Democrat priorities, not tax relief for all citizens equally.

But, if she vetoes this, it's a re-election year.

The Whitmer flop-sweat on this should be epic.

Gov Half-Whit Looks At the Polls, Attempts Transparent Political Ploy

Democrats are looking at the polls, looking at the price at the pump, looking at the upcoming mid-terms, and getting really nervous.

How do we know?  Because of stories like this:

The Detroit Free Press: Whitmer joins other governors, calls on Congress to suspend federal fuel tax 

Whitmer has never heard of a tax she didn't like, has attempted to increase Michigan's gas tax multiple times, and her now asking the Feds to quite taking taxes out of the cost of gas is a rather shameless ploy on her part.

Why? Because federal gas taxes come to 18.3 cents a gallon.

Michigan's gas tax, which she is not offering to stop collecting to bring relief to Michigan drivers - something she could do right now on her own - is a bit over 27 cents per gallon. 

She could offer more relief immediately than what she's asking from the Feds, but will not do so, and then she'll try to look good by claiming she tried to have the feds reduce the tax.

With Much Fanfare, A Drop In The Bucket

The Detroit News: Nations agree to release 60 million barrels of oil amid war

Fifty percent, 30 Million of the 60 Million barrels from the International Energy Agency 31 member countries will come from one country:  The USA. 

Apparently the other 30 can maybe cough up a million barrels each.  Some show of unity.

 60 Million barrels is however less than nothing and will maybe cause a dip in prices for a day or less. Biden released 50 million from the US Strategic Reserve to much fanfare and the price of oil didn't even dip much at all.  60 million will do even less considering how many more nations are affected.

You'll note in the article that even this measure does not get rid of the special exception to all the harsh sanctions on Russia - Oil and gas sales and money flows from same remain untouched under the sanctions.  After all, it is winter in Europe and they're dependent on Russian gas as they live out their Greenie fantasies.

Instead of this silly 60 million barrel showmanship, Biden and the rest should get serious about oil development to really deal with the problem - restart the Keystone pipeline that Biden shuttered; reopen the oil and gas leases Biden closed;  give support to the Israel-Greece-Europe pipeline that Biden stopped supporting and ended;  and importantly have Europe do some actual reliable power generation.

We'll know people are serious about energy supply, prices and hitting Russia where it hurts when these steps take place.   Until then, its energy theater, and prices will stay high hurting consumers while the elites that caused the problem remain above it all.

Biden Administration Flailing Around As Fuel Prices Increase

The Biden Administration is finally noticing that gas and fuel prices are rising, and likely their latest election drubbing is reminding them that November 2022 is less than 365 days away and their policies have consequences.

But not to worry, one of Biden's most inept cabinet members is on it.

The Detroit News: Granholm says Biden administration eyeing oil reserve to lower gas prices

Not one word about reopening the Keystone pipeline.  Not one word about reversing the shutdown of  all those oil and gas leases he cancelled upon taking office.  Not one word on getting out of the way so we can boost domestic production and thereby increase supply and have leverage for reducing prices.

Instead they're now talking of a temporary fix of selling oil from the strategic reserve and begging OPEC to produce more.

OPEC and its allies last week rejected Biden’s request for a large production increase and stuck to a plan for gradual monthly output increases of 400,000 barrels a day.

“OPEC is unfortunately controlling the agenda with respect to oil prices,” Granholm told CNN.

The Biden administration can only blame itself for OPEC now controlling the agenda. 

This is especially due to the Administration's outlook that it's "hillarious" to try and increase domestic petroleum production. Under Trump we had energy independence - Biden reversed that.

 

So this Administration not believing in the law of supply and demand is now stuck to begging hat in hand to OPEC to increase production without any leverage.

Yes The US Government Did Badly Mess Up The Gas Can

In the Detroit Free Press, a leftist columnist laments that modern American gas cans doth suck.  That it took him this long to realize it makes one wonder how often, if ever that he's used a gas can in recent history.

The Detroit Free Press: I wasted $40 on a couple of nearly unusable gas cans: How to find a good one

The writer, Phelan, notes that these cans were govern mentally mandated  with "improvements" to make them environmentally friendly are not only hard to use, but lead to gas spills and hazards which is hardly good for the environment which is what they were designed to protect, right?

He goes on to note that the changes were due to governmental policy and you  need to get on the "black market" to find decent replacement working spouts.

He does state it was the California and US Governments that combined to mess up something so simple as a gas can, but still thinks the environmental regs that led to him and everyone else using the cans spilling gas are still a good idea - so he can't endorse people retro-fitting them to make them work.

He can see the problem, knows what caused the problem but can't advocate fixing the problem as that would go against his love of governmental regulations no matter how much they make people's lives worse and cause the very problems they purport to solve.

Overdoing It Just A Tad There Sport

So this morning, I went to the gas pumps at Costco to fill up and moved into a spot behind a Volvo that had its driver's side door wide open with the engine off at the pump ahead.

I waited a moment before stopping at the second pump, as often people finish and drive off and there's no point leaving an empty pump in front of you and making someone wait behind you if they're about to leave, when you could have waited a second and moved forward.

Well, after a polite minute of waiting, there's still no movement out of the vehicle and it looks like he's coiffing his hair, as one does at a gas station I suppose.

Ok, then.

So, I level up to the second pump, turn the car off and get out.

Still no movement out of the vehicle ahead.

I feed the pump my card, press the appropriate buttons, open my gas tank, and am about to remove the handle when the guy finally gets out of his cart.  Older fella, rather spry, with very nicely coiffed hair for pumping gas, I must say.

Ok, so I've now started pumping gas and he slowly makes his way to the pump.

He doesn't start pumping gas.

Instead he takes what looks like a Clorox wipe and starts wiping down the entire gas pump handle, the swivel beneath it, the entire hose, he's really seriously wiping down everything, including parts no one ever touches.  Neglects to wipe the lever inside of the handle though, which is funny as that's where your hand is going to actually be touching, but every other surface gets wiped.

He then wipes down the card reader, screen and all the buttons.  Again, he hits areas you're unlikely to be touching as he's busily wiping everything down.

He's about to place his card in the machine and that's when I'm done filling my tank.

He has yet to remove the handle from the pump when I'm leaving the gas station.

I'm sure that gas pump has never been cleaner, aside from the lever mind you.

Thankfully, No Earth Shattering Kaboom

So this morning I was working from home and I got a knock on the door.

It was Consumers Energy, letting me know that there was a gas leak right in my front yard.

It seems they were driving through the neighborhood doing a survey and it detected gas leaking.

Of course, it had to be on the lawn right where there are a bunch of large rocks decoratively piled and right under a Michigan white pine sapling that Leah brought home from school last year and we had planted in that otherwise bare space.

The gas leak explains why Leah's tree is having some issues with browning leaves and such.

So, they immediately got to work excavating a hole to get to the leak.

It became quite a large hole indeed.

They then found the leak almost immediately in the copper pipe leading to the house, right at the main. It made quite the whooshing noise when they found it. They then capped off the main and then pressure tested the remainder of the copper pipe leading to the house. No further leaks were found but they're going to replace the copper service pipe with a plastic one all thw way to the house soon so more digging will occur in the future. It was also clearly safe once one of the service guys had a smoke break right by the hole.

Here's the site of the leak and the remainder of the copper service pipe being tested.

A welder then arrived and they welded the connection back to the main. They then filled in the hole and finished up. Final leak testing comes later along with turning the gas back on, probably later this evening.

Very efficiently done, and the Consumer's Energy guys were nice people. It was pretty cool watching them skillfully do the excavation and repair work.

They're also going to cover the bare earth back up and move the rocks back into position once the final clean-up crew is available.

An interesting diversion and another reminder that it is always something.

The Obama Inspired Utility Scam

Remember this lady from Detroit?

Well, it turns out that someone was paying attention and figured the denizens of Detroit and southeastern Michigan could be easily scammed with promises of Obama handouts:

The Detroit News: Obama utility bill-paying scam hits Metro Detroit

Metro Detroiters should beware of an online scam that promises President Barack Obama will pay their utility bills.

. . .

Also Wednesday, the state's Public Service Commission, which regulates the state's utility companies, issued a warning for consumers.

Last week, officials with the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department did so as well.

. . .

Under the scam, victims are contacted in person, through fliers, social media and text messages.

Scammers tell consumers Obama can provide credits or apply payments to their water, electric and heating bills in exchange for their Social Security number and a bank routing number.

Once someone provides the information, they receive a bank routing number that will supposedly pay the bills.

No such federal program exists. Customers think they've paid their bills, but they haven't.

Lisa Dilg, a spokeswoman for the Better Business Bureau for Eastern Michigan, said people are still being snookered.

"A lot of people are falling for it," she said. "It's pretty shocking. We're getting several complaints about it every day."

Not to mention they just provided all the information needed for their identity to be stolen.

Its no wonder that the credulous dolts are falling for this scam.

Remember Obama's promise of taxing oil companies and using the money to help people pay their utility bills?

It's a pretty sad turn of events when scammers can use the same magical thinking and economically illiterate approach used by the president to get elected to fleece the same bunch of ignorant fools.

Update: The Detroit Free Press reports that as of July 24, at least 2,300 Michigan residents have been scammed by this scheme.

As Dollar Inflates, Michigan's Gas Prices Rise

Unexpectedly, of course.

Fill-up fears: Michigan drivers face $3 a gallon at pump

Michigan drivers got hit with a 20-cent increase at the gas pumps this past weekend, sending the average price for regular unleaded fuel above $3 a gallon for the first time in two years.

At a time when fuel costs usually drop following the summer tourism season, statewide prices surged to $3.04 a gallon, AAA Michigan spokeswoman Nancy Cain reported Monday. "It's surprising that this is happening," Cain said. "It's very unusual."

Why the price spike?

The spike is being fueled, according to AAA and two Michigan economists, by a weak American dollar that causes the prices of commodities like food, metals and gas to increase because the American currency has less power to buy items from abroad — especially since the United States imports more than 60 percent of its oil supply.

You can't keep on with Quantitative Easing and putting more and more dollars into circulation and not expect commodities to increase in dollar value as a result as each dollar is now worth less and less.

If you can't add Gas to your car, maybe you shouldn't be driving

So yesterday I'm on my way home in a bit of a rush and realize I need to fuel up my car. No problem, I'm making good time, I'll just pop by Costco on the way home and fill up there as their gas tends to be cheaper.

I get there and there's a problem.

They have one lane completely closed with a trailer there doing something that looks like sewer cleaning.

Other lanes are also partially blocked with some pumps closed.

So I get directed into a line at a lane that has one pump open, with the nozzle on the opposite side from my gas tank (the Costco pump hoses are long, on bungee-like supports that can easily reach around your car so it doesn't matter what lane you get into - pretty efficient right?).

In front of me the car at the pump leaves and the car immediately ahead pulls up to the pump, this should be quick, its a Chrysler 300M and adding gasoline to it is a pretty easy process.

In a few words: for some, not so much.

Out get this middle aged lady (ie its not a teen with her first car and not an elderly person with early onset alzheimers - then again as you'll see maybe its extra-early onset alzheimers after all). She goes up to the pump and stares at it for a while, then fishes in her purse, gets out her card and starts to do something, presses a few buttons and seems to try again.

She then does it again, takes the hose out, looks for her gas tank (on the opposite side from the pump) and proceeds to stick the handle into the tank upside down (trigger an handle on top). This should be good.

Of course it doesn't work as the auto shut off triggers as the handle is upside down! She doesn't seem to understand.

While this is entertaining, people behind me in other lines are now done already and I'm stuck behind this bozo and pined in place with another car firmly attached to my rear bumper.

She goes back to the pump and stares.

Finally a Costco attendant comes by, hits the buttond, and then fills the gas for her, then stops, and then she puts her card in again and he continues to fill. WTF?

Eventually it is done. She now has to navigate the dreaded orange cone blocking the closed off pump in front of her. This takes a while. Finally she's gone. To put it in perspective and a rough estimate of time, I've now listened to three songs waiting for this moron to figure out how to put gas in a car.

I pull up, already with my card in hand as I've had PLENTY of time waiting. Get the process started, drag the hose over the Jeep and start filling in oh 5 seconds.

The Costco guy passes by and I ask what was the difficulty the lady was having.

Well he says first, she wanted midgrade gas (Costco only has 87 and 93 and skips the midgrade) for her car and she couldn't figure out where the button for midgrade was. Then when she realized there was no button she couldn't figure it out how to do it.

Here's a clue -- Fill half your tank with 93, the other half with 87 and voila, you have midgrade at actually a cheaper price than midgrade is typically sold for.

Here's another clue - when there's a long line line behind you have some courtesy and common sense and chose one, do not stop, do not pass go, do not stand there all slack jawed all day, just put one fuel in. If you're really concerned put in the premium, but the 300M will run on 87.

The final clue - put the handle in facing down, it works so much better then, really.

Some people probably shouldn't be allowed out in public by themselves, much less behind the wheel of a car.

Marathon's Detroit refinery gets go-ahead to expand

And about time too.

From the Detroit Free Press: Marathon refinery gets OK to expand, but concerns expressed

Part of the concerns were of course making sure there were jobs for Detroiters - which was given:

Marathon made concessions to improve pollution controls and help the nearby community, including promises of preferential treatment for Detroit residents.

There are some concerns about increased emissions, but its in an industrial area, the refinery capacity in the US is badly in need of expansion and Michigan and Detroit in particular is in drastic need of more jobs, which this expansion will provide.

Certainly well past time this was approved, and good luck to Marathon on the expansion.

Michigan gas prices highest in nation thanks to our sales tax

Michigan currently has the highest gas prices in the nation according to the Detroit News.

One reason is that we're at the end of the gas pipeline and its more expensive to ship it here from the refineries.

The other reason is that Michigan levies a 6% sales tax on top of the price of gas amnd all other federal and state taxes levied upon it. Yes, we're paying a tax on a tax. Further addding insult to injury, the only tax the sales tax is levied upon is the 19 cents road tax that is a fixed amount that doesn't change with the price of gas.

So gas can go up, we pay more taxes, the state gets more money and our roads worsen all at the same time.

Some of this windfall the state is experiencing from the increased take in sales taxes should be directed back towards fixing the roads and building new ones to enhance our infrastructure, which badly needs it. -- good luck on that happening.

Instead the state wants to raise the Road Tax on top of the already exorbitant take it is getting from the sales tax, thereby ensuring that Michigan is #1 in something - namely the price of gasoline.