THE COMPETITIVE ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE, A FREE market think tank, announced its entry into the electric power market and demanded that utilities open up the power grid to its services.
Says CEI Fellow in Regulatory Studies Wayne Crews: "The pervasive thinking among so-called reformers is that just because somebody spins magnets, they have a right of access to utility wires property. Well, we're tired of fighting that idea. We want in on some of the money."
CEI Digital Electric Co.'s first generation plant, as illustrated here, is a 2-volt generator with an overall customer capacity of 0.025 amp, served by a 60.9m, #30 AWG transmission wire. Four rotating 1 3 2 3 5cm ceramic magnets generate current from the "facility."
Start-up costs totalled $7.91. That's right, seven dollars, ninety-one cents.
Considerable cost savings over conventional generation are expected given the unique digitally powered architecture, however Crews conceded: "My fingers are blistered from spinning the thing. And I miss my family."
Longer term, the Institute's installations may employ rodents in tread-wheel turbines. More immediate CEI generating ventures will incorporate flying kites in thunderstorms with keys attached to the strings. The resulting electricity will be distributed over utility wires, provided nettlesome employee health insurance issues can be worked out.
Says CEI President Fred Smith, "It's a blessed outrage what chumps we've been, I've spent years defending markets and property rights, when we could have been cashing in royally. Well no more.