Power/energy: The DOE's chief on U.S. energy policy: Energy Secretary Donald Hodel explains how laissez-faire and a balanced energy supply are necessary to react quickly in an unstable world

Once upon a time - before the sleeping giant of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries awoke in 1973 - the United States was under the illusion that it would always have cheap and abundant energy supplies. Today energy is so costly that each upward surge and dip in price has dramatic impact on the cost of living. Energy supply and price have become inseparably intertwined with the nation's economy. And in concert with its economic policy, the Reagan administration is letting supply and demand in a free market determine the availability and price of energy.