Posted on 04/20/2022 9:48:59 AM PDT by george76
As a regulated monopoly, Xcel is guaranteed huge profits if they build new stuff...
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3676530/posts
Colorado Ping ( Let me know if you wish to be added or removed from the list.)
> Or we could deregulate and break up the monopolies so that people can choose what power company they want. <
I don’t know anything about Xcel Energy. But in my neck of the woods we had exactly one electric company. It was regulated by the state, and provided excellent service at a reasonable cost. I had (and have) no complaints.
Then came deregulation. That one regulated company is still there. But now there are at least a dozen unregulated competitors. From what I’ve seen so far, those competitors are - without exception - cheaters and liars. They lock naive folks into contracts with a small upfront saving. Then they lower the boom, and charge “market rates”. In other words, they charge whatever they want.
That’s how it is around here, anyway. Your mileage may vary.
Rigged “elections” have consequences...
The PG&E bankruptcy in California was an instructive look at the relationship between leftist government and utility monopolies. PGE knew the key to making money is keeping leftist legislators happy so they tell the lies the state wants them to. When criminal charges were threatened and the company was bankrupted by lawsuits the truth came out. PGE was directed by leftist regulators to build windmills and solar at 3 times the cost of natural gas generation. The state would not allow the massive rate hikes that green energy requires so PGE cut the one place they could which was distribution system maintenance. That lack of maintenance is what led to a number of fires during the windy season which led to lawsuits which led to the bankruptcy of PGE.
At least in Colorado the utility is charging people what it costs for “green” energy rather than hiding the costs in (potentially deadly) deferred maintenance.
And it should be made clear that the reason why the rates are high is because of windmills and Biden’s and the left’s war on natural gas and coal.
The PUC was supposed to be a watchdog to make sure regulated monopoly utilities delivered plentiful energy at affordable rates to consumers. They have completely abandoned that mission to pursue the left’s climate change lunacy, which drives rates up. That a-hole Binz led the charge.
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