Rationing Energy to Industries: Priorities and Input-Output Dependence

A short time ago it was unthinkable and deemed an academic exercise to speak of rationing. People thought that there could be no crippling energy crisis because our energy czars and planners would presumably take our needs into their projections. Today the situation looks very different. Witness the lack of natural gas in the cold winter of 1976–77, which caused the shutdown of some schools and industries, and the coal strike of 1977–78. Lack of coal caused a shortage of electric power in the Midwest, and electric power companies planned to ask for an end to all outdoor lighting and evening sports events plus a cutback of retail business schedules. The companies were also prepared to slice industrial electric usage to between 50 percent and “maintenance level,” forcing the shutdown of many factories.