Energy Policy: How Failure Was Snatched From The Jaws Of Success

Prior to the energy crisis of 1973, the U.S. did not have an energy policy. The failure of the American political system to anticipate and respond to the changing facts of energy was an inevitable outcome of the way policy is made. Consistent with tradition, the search for a consensus was begun from 1973–1980. The U.S. abandoned cheap energy as a high priority and adopted secure, abundant and clean energy. Conservation came to be viewed as a source of energy along with nuclear power and synfuels. Price deregulation was the most important policy tool. The Reagan administration upset this consensus and substituted the market place as the means for maximizing supplies rather than reduce demand. The federal role was limited to bringing publicly‐owned bonds into the marketplace. At the same time, it reduced RED and concern for the environment. Thus, the Reagan administration succeeded in snatching failure from the jaws of success.