Dumb electricity regulators (updated)

This from the New York Times,

PARIS — A decision by France’s energy regulator that seems to defy both logic and Europe’s green consciousness has set off a political storm here.

At the center is a tiny company that seeks to save consumers money.

Two weeks ago, the French Energy Regulatory Commission, the C.R.E., decided that Voltalis, a company that installs electricity management devices in homes and businesses and then manages their use, would have to, in effect, pay power producers for the power that it saves.

Remember, government is your friend.

Later the article reports,

Challenges, a French business magazine, suggested that the country’s electricity producers, including Électricité de France, which is 85 percent owned by the government, wielded too much influence over regulators.

Remember state ownership of electricity producers is a good thing.

(HT: Market Design)

Update: Thinking about this some more, I wonder if car manufacturers who produce fuel efficient cars should have to pay oil companies for the fuel they save drivers?