[UnderseaLcpl]

Well.... I think that government regulation of the "deregulated" energy market has hurt it.

Once again I must admit my ignorance of the intricacies of the energy market but I do subscribe to the view that competition breeds effeciency.
In my defense, I would posit that I have never encountered an example of an industry where competition free from state interference has produced inefficiency.
Logically, competition cannot breed inefficiency because the inefficient are weeded out. Of course, communism "logically" works for some people as well.
I still have a great deal of reserach to do on the energy industry in the U.S., 1480, and I will submit those findings for your review via PM.
Still, I remain unconvinced of your argument that speculation is a significant or removeable factor in oil prices. Companies have the choice of "locking in" an oil price for future purchases, just as people do in other futures markets. If they speculate incorrectly, they lose business. However, I believe they are only just now approaching this point. After all, many people still drive SUV's or other inefficient vehicles despite the price of fuel.
The most powerful vote we have in changing gas prices or the cost of any other commodity is our dollar. However, the government can nullify our vote by regulating prices or industry practices by means of subsidies, fines, tariffs and taxes.
I think that you misinterpret trust-busting when it comes to energy providers. Even if energy was cheaper under regulation, that generally means that these providers were operating at a loss, which must be made up from taxes or printing of new money, which is, itself a form of tax as it devalues the currency.
I will admit that investiture and the market can fail at times, and I wish I could provide the answers to prevent that, but government is virtually always inefficient in eveything it does by virtue of being an entity with no incentive. Politics, when combined with anything, creates, waste and favoritism. IMO the only industry that is more wasteful than the government is the legal industry, which is also responsible for the largest transfers of assets in the history of mankind. Of course, this is only possible because of our hopelessly obtuse legal system which was created by the government. It is also not surprising that the majority of our political representatives (in the U.S. at least) are or were lawyers.
I'm beginning to drift off-topic here but I think we can agree on one thing given our differing views; the Government is the most ARTIFICIAL factor in industry and market performance.

Always a pleasure discussing these things with you-

The Lance