Why Can't You Choose Your Own Power Company?
Your power company has a monopoly on your home's electricity, and most people have never once thought about switching because there's nothing to switch to. James walks through the history of the energy grid and explains how a rationale from the early 1900s locked in a system that limits competition and leaves consumers with higher costs and lower quality service.
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Transcript
This is the Daily note from jamesabrown.net Think about the last time you switched your power company.
Speaker A:Odds are you didn't.
Speaker A:Or the last time you did, you moved.
Speaker A:Because in most of this country, one company in every community owns the wires to your house, and that is that there's no shopping around.
Speaker A:Because back in the early 20th century, it made sense, because the grid costs a fortune to build and to maintain.
Speaker A:And you can't have five companies stringing competing wires down every street.
Speaker A:So they gave one company a territory and they regulated what they can charge.
Speaker A:Except they didn't.
Speaker A:And with no competition, our grid gets worse and we pay more and they make more.
Speaker A:And yes, we built this on purpose, a system without exits and customers without power.
Speaker A:On that note, I'm James A.
Speaker A:Brown, and as always, be well.
