To a limited extent I can understand charging folks something. On the offhand chance you need to use the grid for power (or heck, to put power into it.), the grid needs to be functional, which takes repairs and maintenance, which takes money. That said, forcing to pay for lost profits is ridiculous.
Yup.
However, let me suggest a radical idea:
Any service that has infrastructure requirements like this, such that there's a mandatory "base fee" under the usage fee, should be nationalized, and the base fee paid be taxes. Every, and any, service. Water. Sewage. Electricity. Internet. Roads. Any basic need provided, that requires infrastructure that would incur a monthly maintenance fee. De-privatize it.
This would be my litmus law for nationalizing services.
Natural monopoly is the term you're looking for I believe, though I think you're going a smidge further then the definition.
Works for me.
I'd be more amenable to fees if the companies were actually forced to maintain their infrastructure and if the government wasn't already giving them all big handouts. That comment about nationalizing all of them makes a bunch of sense to me.
We live in a corporatocracy.
Ah, Louisiana, first you charge people $800 energy bills then you complain that you can't make it more efficient. Capitalism is doing great.
Too many utilities are incorrectly billing fixed distribution costs on their per-kilowatt hour rate. Where I live, distribution is just over half the cost of electricity, but it is still mostly billed per kilowatt hour, when really those costs are nearly completely fixed.
Sounds about right for Louisiana.
FREEDOM! Enjoy those PROFITS you SOCIALIST COMMIES IN BLUE STATES!
Double repost:
https://futurology.today/post/2001065
https://futurology.today/post/2009533
Not sure why this one has more comments than the previous ones.
We had a technical issue that impacted the federation with other instances. It's resolved now so there's more visibility.
Ah, that would explain it. Thanks!