Erich Mattei’s theory of government meddling and price controls as the cause of the recent blackout (“Restriction of free market at fault for blackout,” Aug. 29) is interesting and certainly bears reading, but it misses the mark.

The actual core cause is the dearth of transmission line capacity to carry electricity in a given grid system. So long as there exists a mismatch between demand and carrying capacity, the blackout problem will persist – price controls or no.

In respect to the issue of said controls, the recent heat death calamity in France (11,000 now reported or nearly four times the number that died on Sept. 11) should alert us to the fact that electricity use is not necessarily a luxury.

It may be a life-saving necessity, especially as global climate disruption increases, and major heat waves ensue.

My point is that in the matter of the public good and public necessities, such as water and electricity, the “market god” is not the one to worship, and must not be the final arbiter.

Philip A. Stahl

Author, “The Atheist’s Handbook to Modern Materialism”