www.nj.com Sunday, March 09, 2003 BY TOM JOHNSON Star-Ledger Staff

Natural gas prices have doubled in the past year. Caps on electric bills will be lifted this August. A possible war in Iraq and a strike in Venezuela have pushed the price of oil to nearly $40 a barrel.

If businesses are not yet feeling the pinch from soaring energy costs, they soon will, experts warn. Businesses that in the past paid little attention to the cost of energy no longer can afford to ignore it.

"For most people, the energy portion of the business is not something they normally focus on, but now you see consumers are really getting hammered right now," said Richard Soultanian, co-president of NUS Consulting Group in Park Ridge, which helps companies manage utility bills. "Saving money on energy expenses without significant modifications in your operations is at a premium right now."

Businesses have always had to deal with contingencies like oil shortages and unusually cold winters, and the effect they can have on energy costs. But until recent years, that effect was often small because energy markets were tightly regulated.

"In the past, you had utilities act as the shock absorber for energy crises, at least in the short term," said R. Scott Helm, president of American PowerNet, an electric management and procurement company based in Wyomissing, Pa.

Over the past several years, New Jersey has taken steps to deregulate the sale of natural gas and electricity, the two main sources of energy for most companies. As a result, experts say, businesses are more vulnerable to market forces when it comes to purchasing energy.

"The landscape in energy has changed dramatically," Soultanian said. "With deregulation, with the opening up of markets, one of the side effects is volatility. Now, it is a true supply and demand market."

For most companies, energy is the second-largest cost after labor.

Deregulation was going to lead to more competition and lower prices. At least that is what state officials thought when they decided to break up New Jersey's gas and electric monopolies beginning in 1999.

In fact, there has been little savings for business, other than a one-time statewide discount. Few companies have bothered switching suppliers, either for electricity or gas.

A new wrinkle in the energy equation will come this summer, when the state lifts caps on electric bills for businesses as well as consumers. The move is expected to lead to rate increases of up to 13 percent.

"Unfortunately, I believe the way the system was set up, there's going to be sticker shock," Helms said.

Most at risk are 1,700 of the state's largest industrial customers. Beginning in August, their electricity rates will fluctuate not by the month or week or day -- but by the hour.

During peak usage, Soultanian said, some businesses could see electricity prices triple within the span of an hour.

Unless companies more aggressively manage their energy costs -- seeking new suppliers, switching usage to off-peak hours -- they could see their August electric bill jump by 50 percent over the July bill, Helms said.

Indeed, some experts see the new pricing system as an opportunity for larger users to better manage their energy costs.

"This type of pricing is going to give them a big inducement to shift their energy use to off-peak periods and to conserve energy," predicted Steve Gabel, president of Gabel Associates in Highland Park, an energy consulting firm.

Small and medium-sized businesses, as well as residential customers, will have some protection from the lifting of price caps this summer. For these customers, the state has locked in electricity prices, though at a level about 6 percent higher than they are now, Gabel said.

Ratepayers face still other increases on the electric side. The utilities are seeking to recover $1 billion in costs they incurred in buying power at prices they could not pass on to customers because of rate caps. Customers also face rate increases from the utilities on expenses they incurred in upgrading the lines and poles that deliver power to homes and businesses.

Just how large the final bill is will not be determined until later this year during proceedings before the state Board of Public Utilities.

"It's a historical accident that all these things are kicking in at the same time," said Steven Goldenberg, a lawyer representing big energy users in the New Jersey Large Industrial Users Association. "It's kind of pancaked on top of each other."

No wonder some businesses are already looking to cut energy costs any way they can.

At Archive System Inc. in Franklin Township, Ed Vogelson, its chief operating officer, decided to invest in $38,000 in retrofitting a 200,000-square-foot warehouse that stores business records and files with more energy-efficient lighting fixtures to reduce his electric bill.

The project, undertaken in conjunction with Jersey Central Power & Light Co. and the New Jersey Clean Energy Program, has reduced the facility's monthly electric bill from an average of $4,300 last year to about $1,900, Vogelson said.

"I knew the prices were going to go up in August," said Vogelson. "My energy bills are a significant part of my business."

Tom Johnson can be reached at tjohnson@starledger.com or at (973) 392-5972.

www.calendarlive.com By Agustin Gurza, Times Staff Writer

Decades after socially conscious rock transformed pop culture in the U.S., singer-songwriters with a point of view are climbing the Latin pop charts once dominated by cookie-cutter romantic crooners. Raised on rock en español and rooted in the folk rhythms of their native lands, this new wave of Latin pop stars is transforming public tastes and even revolutionizing this country's Spanish-language radio, a stubborn bastion of conservative and formulaic music.

Although the change has been gradual and tentative, its arrival was telegraphed dramatically with this year's Grammy nominees for best Latin pop album. All five contenders -- Jorge Moreno, Donato Poveda, Sin Bandera, Diego Torres and Bacilos -- are new arrivals who write their own material.

"People understand that we're in need of change and in need of moving ahead," said Jorge Villamizar of Bacilos, the multinational folk-pop trio that won the Grammy last month. "The thing is that Latin music in the United States has been driven by nostalgia for whatever was in fashion at the moment the immigrants left [their homeland]. Now, there is movement of making new music in this country, a meeting point of different cultures."

The Latin American songwriting movement actually caught fire decades ago across the continent, fueled by a liberating '60s spirit and desire for social change. But political repression and marketing forces muffled that era's powerful voices in favor of harmless and homogenous pop.

Today's resurgence is tied to the spread of political democracy, and especially the impact of Latin America's feisty alternative rock scene, which prizes native genres just as the rock revolution in this country drew from U.S. folk music and the blues.

Like Villamizar, the front-runners of the youthful trend are from Colombia. Singers Shakira and Juanes, who both broke big internationally last year, are the first major pop stars to emerge from Latin America's vibrant but commercially marginal rock and alternative music scene.

Shakira may not be the most inspired songwriter, and Juanes may have had to tone down his angst and anger for the sake of airplay. But their success proved that Latin artists with a personal style and strong identity could break through to reach a mass audience.

And others quickly followed.

In recent months, singer-songwriters and their groups have popped up on the Latin pop sales charts -- Guatemala's Ricardo Arjona, Mexico's Sin Bandera, Argentina's Diego Torres and Miami's Bacilos.

Arjona, a veteran songwriter, scored his first No. 1 hit this year with his bitter take on heartbreak, "El Problema," from his new album "Santopecado." Though his work can be poetically pretentious, Arjona's album includes a chilling song called "La Nena" (The Girl), a stark narrative about one of Latin America's greatest evils, kidnapping for ransom.

"There's more room now for artists who are trying to express certain things," Arjona said in a phone interview from his home in Mexico City. "Having a hit doesn't depend so much anymore on the fashion of the day or a catchy chorus or a handsome face."

History of political repression

In Spanish, there's a special term for singer-songwriters, who are known as "cantautores," a contraction of the words "cantante" (singer) and "autor" (composer). The tradition of the guitar-carrying troubadour who philosophizes, politicizes and waxes poetic in song is deeply rooted in many Spanish-speaking countries.

The global rebellion of the '60s gave rise to the so-called New Song movement, with stirring voices such as Cuba's Silvio Rodriguez, Brazil's Chico Buarque, Spain's Joan Manuel Serrat and Chile's Victor Jara.

In those days, being an outspoken artist was a risky profession, especially under dictatorships. Serrat was harassed for singing in his native Catalan instead of in Spanish. Buarque was censored by military rulers. Jara was slain for his socialist-inspired songs during a CIA-supported coup.

Some argue that political repression stunted the evolution of the singer-songwriter in Latin America. In countries like Mexico, political monopolies and media monopolies were notoriously intertwined. Provocative artists found few mass outlets for their work and little label support, say Arjona and others.

The Latin music industry also had financial incentives to play it safe. In an attempt to maximize sales, multinational labels looked for artists who could appeal across the board in a fragmented and nationalistic continent.

For decades, labels actively cultivated romantic singers whose homogenized appeal transcended diverse ethnic cultures. Singers like Spain's Julio Iglesias or Venezuela's Jose Luis Rodriguez or Mexico's Jose Jose became international superstars precisely because they disguised their national origins.

Eventually, they all started sounding the same. Nowadays, those crooners seem almost as old-fashioned as Perry Como and Pat Boone.

More and more, contemporary Latin artists highlight rather than hide their colorful national differences, be it the belly dancing of Shakira or the folksy accordion of Carlos Vives, another Colombian who popularized the coastal country music called vallenato.

By historic standards, though, today's most visible Latin singer-songwriters may sound tame. The most commanding, and uncompromising artists continue to toil in the alt-Latino scene below the radar of commercial radio and sales charts.

The smooth vocal duo Sin Bandera, for example, still sticks mostly to romantic themes. Yet this songwriting team of Argentine Noel Schajris and Mexican Leonel García (whose group name suggests they fly no country's flag) takes a fresh approach to the traditional Latin ballad. Theirs is a revolution of style, replacing melodramatic bel canto with R&B soulfulness and jazzy bossa nova.

"For us," says Schajris, "the social topic that should touch us most is love. Because without love, what good is society?"

Beyond cute faces, to the lyrics Latin pop music, fueled in part by evolving democracy back home and the alt-rock scene, is undergoing a blossoming word-driven revolution.  

  Breakthrough (AP)   The new wave Some recent albums by the new generation of Latin American singer-songwriters Juanes, "Fíjate Bien" (Watch Carefully) -- The Colombian's acclaimed 2001 debut is passionate, bold, original and proud of its roots. Last year's far more conventional follow-up, "Un Día Normal" (A Normal Day), is partly redeemed by the rousing, prayer-like hit "A Dios Le Pido" (I Ask of God). "A Dios Le Pido" "Es Por Ti" "Fijate Bien"

Diego Torres, "Un Mundo Diferente" (A Different World) -- This mellow Argentine uses soft samba and bossa undercurrents to sustain his upbeat vision, especially his anthemic ode to optimism "Color Esperanza" (The Color of Hope). "Color Esperanza" "Alegria" "Soy De La Gente"

Shakira, "MTV Unplugged" -- The sensational Colombian/Lebanese performer writes better in Spanish than English. Here she offers acoustic versions of her pre-blond, pre-crossover hits, such as the biting protest song "Octavo Día" (The Eighth Day). "Octavo Dia" "Ciega, Sordomuda" "Ojos Asi"

Bacilos, "Caraluna" (Moonface) -- The Miami trio's appealing tropical-folk style hit a chord with a young Latino audience as multinational as the band itself. Catchy melodies, clever writing. "Buena" "Mi Primer Millon" "Nada Especial"

Sin Bandera, "Sin Bandera" -- The smooth vocal duo sticks mostly to romantic themes, but this Argentine songwriting team takes a fresh approach to the traditional Latin ballad. "Para Alcanzarte" "Kilometros" "A Encontrarte"

Jorge Moreno, "Moreno" -- This debut earned a best new artist Latin Grammy last year for the talented Cuban American. Moreno seamlessly fuses U.S. and Latin influences in a contemporary, bicultural pop pastiche.

www.miami.com Posted on Sun, Mar. 09, 2003 BY ANDRES OPPENHEIMER aoppenheimer@herald.com

Latin America is becoming a major fundraising base for radical Islamic groups in the Middle East, which are getting between $300 million and $500 million a year from various criminal networks in the region, a top U.S. military commander told The Herald.

Gen. James T. Hill, commander of the U.S. Southern Command, which oversees U.S. military relations in Latin America, said much of this money comes from drug trafficking, arms dealing and other illegal activities. He said the funds are sent abroad from several Latin American areas with large Middle Eastern populations, such as the triple frontier between Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil, and Margarita island off the coast of Venezuela.

''The fastest-growing religion in Latin America today is Islam,'' Gen. Hill said during an interview at his office. ``We think that there are between 3 and 6 million people of Middle Eastern descent in Latin America. There are radical Islamic groups associated with that population that are using it to create lots of money for their organizations.''

Hill said that about ``$300 million to $500 million a year, easily, goes [from Latin America] to groups such as Hamas, Hezbollah, and Al Gamaat.''

Only in Paraguay, news reports in December said the government was investigating suspicious transfers of more than $100 million into Lebanon, he added.

While U.S. officials have long pointed at large flows of money from Middle Eastern population enclaves in Latin American to Islamic radical groups, they had been reluctant to provide specific estimates. Monday, at a conference on ''Building Regional Security'' organized by the University of Miami's North-South Center, Hill had put the figure at ''hundreds of millions of dollars,'' but did not elaborate further.

At the conference, attended by military officers from several Latin American countries, Hill had called for ''increased coordination'' among armed forces to fight narco-terrorism, conduct disaster relief operations, and to help stop the flow of money to international terrorist groups. Many Latin American countries are cautious about discussing security agreements with the United States, fearing they could lead to U.S. interventions in the region.

In an apparent response to such fears, Hill told The Herald that he sees no need to create a multinational military force against narco-terrorism. ''I don't see that happening,'' he said, adding that the 34-country Organization of American States has enough mechanisms to allow a collective fight against international criminal groups.

Asked whether Latin American governments are cooperating with U.S. authorities in the fight against Islamic terrorist groups, he said, ``To varying degrees, different governments are.''

He said Paraguay, in particular, has offered ''a lot of support'' over the past two years.

But Hill played down speculation that there may be al Qaeda terrorist cells or other radical Islamic groups' training bases in Latin America. He said he wouldn't be surprised if they existed, but there isn't enough evidence to say they do.

Emilio Viano, a terrorism expert at American University in Washington, said he is not surprised by Hill's assertions that hundreds of millions of dollars are going from Latin America to radical Islamic groups. But he added that in some cases, such as that of the ''triple frontier,'' increased international scrutiny after the Sept. 11 attacks has made it harder for terrorist groups to launder money there.

''Pressure is being put on Paraguay,'' Viano said. ``The activities have diminished there, but not disappeared.''

Some experts, however, are skeptical about the new estimates of Islamic groups' fundraising in Latin America.

Eduardo Gamarra, director of Florida International University's Latin American and Caribbean Center, called the estimates ``absolutely ridiculous.''

''A lot of figures have been bouncing around, but in the last year I've been looking at these particular issues, and most of what I found was speculation,'' he said.

Herald writer Larissa Ruiz Campo contributed to this report.

www.oregonlive.com 03/09/03 VIVIAN McINERNY THE OREGONIAN

When Jennifer Lopez first topped the music charts, the whole world not only listened but also wanted to buy her fabulous chandelier earrings!

They found them at stores everywhere.

And that was just the beginning.

Embroidered Spanish-style shawls are available at department stores such as Meier & Frank and Mervyn's; ankle-strap shoes like those favored in tango dancing are carried by everyone from Escada to Payless ShoeSource; and reinterpretations of flouncy dance dresses are sold in the juniors departments of Nordstrom and J.C. Penney.

Styles favored in traditional Latin cultures provide one of the latest trends in theme dressing.

But fashion is fickle by design. The industry soon turned elsewhere for inspiration. Like all pop prattle, talk of the Latin look was fully expected to fade to a whisper.

But if clothes talk, these shout. And they are bilingual.

"When it first came off the runways in spring 2001, it looked too costumey for the average person to wear," said June Rau, a Northwest regional fashion director for Nordstrom based in Los Angeles. "But we have incorporated it into our wardrobes now, and you will see . . . off-the-shoulder necklines, asymmetric skirts and ankle straps in the mainstream. We know how to wear that now. We are comfortable with that."

Not surprising. The latest U.S. Census Bureau lists the Hispanic population as the largest minority population in this country. The rise in number has meant an upsurge of influence on popular culture.

Performers Christina Aguilera and Shakira have young girls bopping to Latin rhythms and baring their bellies in imitation of their ab-fab idols. Latin beauty Salma Hayek wore a curve-clinging gown in matador red to the Golden Globes and made the garment industry's presentation of stick figures fashions look like child's play. Ralph Lauren, who built his business on an idolized image of refined American beauty, recently chose the dark-eyed Penelope Cruz to represent his line.

This follows the traditional Old World elegance offered by fashion designers Oscar de la Renta, originally from the Dominican Republic, and Carolina Herrera of Venezuela. There's the night life and spice of the colorful Custo Barcelona line from Spain, and the international blend favored by designers Narciso Rodriguez, Esteban Cortazar and Eduardo Lucero.

Minorities are the new majority.

"It's the buzz right now, the whole Latin market," said Victoria Sanchez-Lincoln, fashion director of Latina magazine in New York City. "It started a few seasons ago but it keeps evolving to different things."

Latin style can't be reduced to a single look.

The fruit-crowned Carmen Miranda, the slick machismo of Ricky Ricardo and the cuchi-cuchi costumes of Charo were played for laughs. But pop culture is not snickering at the new Latinos. Maybe because the Latin population has hit a critical mass in this country. Latin culture may be just what America needs now, Sanchez-Lincoln ventures, as people tire of bad news making headlines.

"The Latin culture is so positive in energy and passion and color and richness in texture and fabrics," she said. "It is something pretty and fun to be a part of in the fashion point of view."

Tango dresses, with their asymmetric hemlines, ruffled flounces or split skirts or slim, slit skirts, look sexy on and off the dance floor. Latin dance teacher Sharon Reynosa has watched the fashions, music and moves leap in popularity the past few years.

"It used to take three of the first six dance lessons to get gringos on the beat," she said. "Now they are listening to that Latin music (on radio, MTV, commercials and even exercise classes) and they can get on the beat on the first class."

Even those who don't dance, can't resist the pull of sexy salsa dresses offered by clothing companies such as XOXO in junior departments of department stores. Or the colorful Brazilian crochet scarves sold at Onda Studio and Gallery in Northeast Portland.

Fashion photographer Rafael Astorga of Portland was raised in Venezuela and never thought of his perspective as particularly Latin.

"But in the last couple years I've come to realize that I do see things a little differently," he said. "It might be something about the geography, the light, the color saturation. If you look at fashion magazines from South America or Spain, they are very bold, they are very colorful."

Astorga shoots for Nike and also took Jantzen swimwear ads from standard to sizzling. He acknowledges a sexuality to his photography that many view as Latin but he sees as a global mix. Spanish culture was brought to Central America and then that culture entered the United States, where it is constantly reinterpreted.

"It's almost like our culture is noisy," Astorga said.

For Sanchez-Lincoln at Latina magazine, it's all good. "We are being more exposed," she said. "These things help us become more successful in political issues, in society -- everything." Vivian McInerny: 503-294-4076; vmcinerny@news.oregonian.com

www.gopbi.com By Ted Jackson, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer Sunday, March 9, 2003

If all of a sudden it feels like you've got less money to spend this year, it could be because you're feeling the effects of soaring energy prices.

Higher energy costs aren't just bad for the pocketbook.

It's a dangerous situation for the sputtering economy, which already has been badly mauled by uncertainty about a possible war with Iraq, economists say. As a group, economy watchers seem to be growing increasingly worried that high energy costs might tip the nation into a recession.

Some are blunter than that.

"If oil prices do not come down relatively soon, there will be another recession," said Thorsten Fischer, an economist at West Chester, Pa.-based Economy.com, an economic research firm.

Oil price increases have played an important role in helping cause virtually every recession over the past 40 years. Except for a brief period in 1987, every time oil has jumped by 60 percent or more the economy has slipped into recession shortly afterwards, according to Economy.com.

Oil prices are up 60 percent from a year ago.

Analysts at that firm say the economy already is fragile, pointing out that gross domestic product growth slowed to just 1.4 percent in the fourth quarter.

"It's clear that the price of oil will be a decisive factor in whether the economy slumps or rebounds," says Daniel Yergin, chairman of Cambridge Energy Research Associates in Cambridge, Mass.

Other energy markets, such as natural gas, have been skyrocketing as well. Many believe that while there is a possibility oil prices will come down in a quick war with Iraq, problems in the natural gas market are longer-term in nature and could be a drag on the economy for some time to come.

Also, if the disruption in the Middle East turns out to be longer than generally anticipated, economists are universal in saying that will be very bad news indeed for growth.

"A protracted war in Iraq would be a disaster for the economy," Economy.com's Fischer said. "Not only would energy prices likely go sky-high, but consumer and business sentiment would be badly damaged."

Think about the recent hikes in energy prices as an onerous tax on consumers. But instead of the proceeds going to government coffers, they are flowing into the pockets of oil company shareholders and the treasuries of oil-exporting nations.

Palm Beach County residents are paying 45 percent more for gasoline, at $1.77 per gallon, and 175 percent more for natural gas, at 82 cents per therm, than they were a year ago.

Florida Power & Light Co. won approval last week from regulators for a 6.2 percent residential fuel adjustment rate hike beginning in April, an increase that could be the first of several as the utility has become increasingly reliant on natural gas as a source of fuel.

Nationally, Fischer estimates, households are spending about 7 percent of their budgets on energy, up sharply from 4.3 percent on average last year.

"When energy prices go up like they have, it affects people's spending decisions," said Ron Earley, senior economist at the federal Energy Information Administration in Washington.

Over the past few months, it seems almost everything that could possibly happen to put upward pressure on energy markets has happened: prospects that war might disrupt vital Middle East oil supplies and actual major disruptions in key oil-producing countries such as Venezuela have combined with soaring U.S. weather-related demand to push some fuels to their highest levels in history.

How long energy prices will stay this high is fast becoming the most important question facing the economy.

"It's key right now," Fischer said.

The prevailing wisdom is that there will be a repeat of what happened during the Persian Gulf War in 1991, when oil prices surged in much the same way they have recently, but quickly fell after the war started and it became clear there would be a swift victory.

Alexander Levien, an oil trader at Boca Raton-based Ken Wolf Commodities, has positioned himself to profit from just such a scenario.

"We believe the war will be short and that oil prices will fall quite a bit once the war begins," he said. Levien's view is mirrored in the prices for oil in the futures market, which he says are anticipating a fall in oil to about $30 per barrel by the end of the year.

Crude oil traded at around $36.50 last week in New York, 20 percent higher than at the start of the year.

The stock market also is discounting a near-term fall in oil, analysts say. Although oil prices have soared and oil companies have been minting money in recent quarters, investors have not bid up oil shares because they believe oil prices will soon tumble, erasing the recent rise in company profits.

But the prevailing wisdom does not take into account that factors other than just the threat of war in the Middle East are behind the rise in oil prices, according to David Costello, economist in charge of short-term oil and gas forecasting at the Energy Information Administration.

He believes the cold weather, low levels of crude oil inventories and political unrest in Venezuela are enough by themselves to have caused much of the steep rise in prices.

"We are forecasting a big jump in oil prices for this year no matter what happens in Iraq," says Costello, adding that he anticipates that oil will end up averaging $32.40 per barrel in 2003, up 25 percent from last year.

Even if oil prices do fall quickly on any war in the Middle East, that doesn't mean energy costs will also fall quickly at home.

Because of technical refining factors having to do with Clean Air Act requirements, the AAA Auto Club says gasoline prices will rise by another 10 cents per gallon in the spring no matter what the price of oil. Global Insight, a Lexington, Mass., economic consulting firm, believes it could be as late as August before gasoline prices start coming down, if they fall at all.

Should the disruption to the oil market caused by a war in Iraq prove to be longer-lasting, oil prices could stay higher for longer as well.

OPEC officials admitted a week ago that members are barely capable of covering Iraq's 2.5 million barrels per day in production in the event of war, so any unforeseen disruption in supply could have an outsize impact on the price of oil later on this year, they warned.

One thing that will have a calming effect is that President Bush is almost certain to release oil from the country's enormous Strategic Petroleum Reserve stockpile if there is a war with Iraq. The extra supply will help push oil prices down at least over the short term, analysts say.

But by purchasing large amounts oil in the open market last year for the reserve, the Bush administration helped push oil prices higher without achieving its goal of increasing overall stockpiles, according to a sharply critical report issued last week by a Senate investigative committee.

Unfortunately for the economy, oil isn't the only energy market that's been skyrocketing lately.

Natural gas futures hit an all-time high of $11.89 per million British thermal units in New York trading a couple of weeks ago and have since settled back to around $7 per million BTUs, up 75 percent since the start of the year.

Although much of the recent natural gas price rise is due to very cold weather across much of the nation, analysts say that natural gas prices are likely to remain historically high over the next several years even under normal weather conditions.

The problem is that natural gas use has soared 30 percent since 1996, while production has barely kept pace. Production actually fell about 5 percent last year and is expected to keep falling through 2005, according to a report by Lehman Brothers.

Florida Power & Light, a division of Juno Beach-based FPL Group, says it buys about 15 percent of its natural gas on the open market, so the utility is largely sheltered from short-term price fluctuations by long-term natural gas contracts. Nevertheless, FPL has become increasingly reliant on natural gas. For example, it converted its Fort Myers facility to natural gas from oil recently.

Last year, the electricity company used natural gas to power 33 percent of its generating capacity on average, up sharply from 24 percent in 2001. The company has the ability to quickly switch about 20 percent of its generating capacity to oil, which is somewhat cheaper than natural gas now. By comparison, New York state can switch only 10 percent of its capacity.

"We are required by law to use the cheapest fuel," FPL spokesman Bill Swank said. "We are burning more oil right now."

There's no doubt that economists are very concerned about high energy prices and their growing impact on the economy.

But they also point out that the nation is far less dependent on energy to power growth than in the 1970s, when big price increases led to a decade of anemic national economic performance.

"We are using less oil per dollar of gross domestic product than at any other time in the last 100 years," said the Energy Information Administration's Earley. "We are using energy a lot smarter."

ted_jackson@pbpost.com