The always-on economy, by definition, depends upon continuous energy.

That depends on what your definition of "is" is

Even if major funding is obtained for cold fusion, conceivably the phenomenon could suffer from problems as intractable as those of hot fusion. It may never work reliably or generate enough energy to be commercially viable.

The economy is generally slowing for a wide variety of reasons -- energy is one, but also the stimulus is wearing off.

We have an economy that has shown signs of slowing. With energy prices at extremely high levels -- and now moving above those levels -- this is kind of a double whammy,

Even before the hurricane hit, rising energy prices were having a dampening effect on the economy,