10mo ago

My utility is now owned by a hedge fund

55 comments

It should be illegal for Utilities to become for-profit. They should either be government run or non-profit, but only in the business to provide a needed service and NOT to make money.
For clarity: By 'Utilities', I mean items for which local residents have little or no choice in the provider (power/electric lines, water/sewer lines, hospitals) AND which either are or are nearly essential for modern living (it'd be hard to get a job without it, OR social services might take your kids if you don't provide the item).
- In this day and age, the ISP should also be on the list of things classified as "utilities" - it's getting harder and harder to do anything useful without the internet. It's become an essential service.
  
  The governments treatment of ISPs has made other industries reconsider how they do business. Utilities as we know them will be going away soon. How long before USPS is sold?
  
  Agreed!
  
  Last mile at least, with equal access rules in the exchange
  
  Much as I don't like ISPs, and I've worked for a few, in the field and on the phones, I shudder to think of our government running one. Yes, they should absolutely be classed as utilities. But I don't want the government involved in actual operations. That's a nightmare in 12 different ways.
  It's a weird business space. Despite being a monopoly in most American markets, they keep expanding service, for no extra cost. I have no idea why they're doing this.
  I live on the edge of town in a redneck suburb. No reason to improve service out here, they're the only real game in town. Yet I keep getting faster and faster speeds for no extra cost.
  Anyone know what's driving improvements without competition? Or is there competition I'm not seeing?
- Include Internet access to those utilities as well, please.
- I think a better way to go about it is what Australia used to do. There was a government run service for most things, phones: Telstra, banking: Commonwealth bank, etc. Unfortunately they get sold off for peanuts/privatised, and what do you know, service suffered, but profits for the board and investors jumped.
  This leaves the ability for private companies to operate in the space if they can compete on price or on service/features.
  Private companies hate that though, it means they can't boil the frog/capture the industry as easily.
  
  I fully agree with you, but the problem is that inevitably conservative governments will find a way to privatize these sorts of state-owned corporations. Our provincial governments here in Canada have been doing this for decades now - always resulting in worse outcomes for consumers
  I'm starting to think the best model going forward would be collectively-owned non-profits (roughly like credit unions) but I'm not optimistic that most people would buy into this idea - certainly not enough to enable it's use for services that constitute utilities. I know in the US a lot of attempts at municipal broadband have been curtailed by the big corps and their owned politicians, and those attempts had a local government behind them. The uphill battle that concerned citizens would face seems almost insurmountable if this were attempted in any way that would challenge a big corp's profits.
  Basically, everything is garbage and the world is getting objectively worse.
  
  Mate, that’s literally what they’re saying. Make it government run as a public utility.
  Privatisation is a neolib cancer on the world.
  
  How is that better?
- Yes. These things should not be run for profit.
  I think that we should set up some sort of honey pot trap, here. Anyone who seriously proposes privatizing one of the utilities is permanently barred from working in the industry ever again.
  Wildly impractical, I know. I just want the people who are always making the world shittier so they can have a little more profit to suffer.
- In NW Florida we had a semi-private, semi-government firm running our power. Seemed fair. We could vote on directors, they made a profit to keep the infrastructure running, prices were fair.
  Now that our government sold us out to a private company, prices spiked and reliability dropped. I should note; We were told prices would jump to work on infrastructure. OK, I dunno, might be fair. Read on.
  So, this is all anecdotal, take it as you will. People complained about prices jumping 40%. I didn't see it for some time, my bill was about the same. Now I'm seeing the price hike. Don't know what changed. My bill went from $120 tops to $240. For reference, I live in a small Habitat for Humanity house. They build for energy efficiency above all else.
  Since the private entity took over, I'm seeing more power blips. Nothing to really removed about, but we never had "blips" during afternoon storms. What happened to the infrastructure improvements? Again, anecdotal, but it sure seems worse.
  And one more anecdote... I'm 53. Grew up in Tulsa. Power never cut out when I was a kid, not for a second. OTOH, when a storm took us down, it was hours or days to recover, not minutes. And I may be misremembering, YMMV.
  Mostly with ya OP. I think utilities should be able to make a modest profit. Encourages them to do well, expand. They make a little money, do a good job, nobody's removed. Modest being the key word here.
- 『Bolshevik chorus swells』
  SEIZE THE MEANS OF PRODUCTION! WE HAVE NOTHING TO L—mph! mmmpmmmph! mmmlmmmpmmmph!
  『is carried off by well dressed industrialist goons』
- In The Netherlands, the power grid has been turned into a different company than the power supply company. Same for gas and internet. The infrastructure companies are tightly regulated, to the point that they might as well be gpvernment branches. The providers however, are free to offer whatever.
  The result is healthy competition where possible, without any company gaining a monopoly position over the utilities of individuals.
  The drawback is that they figired out that the best way to make money, is of the backs of lazy people. People who don't want to switch providers, cause that means effort. Hence, not actively looking for a better offer every few years is quite costly.

I'm certain they'll lower prices, improve customer service, and invest in clean energy initiatives.
Seriously though, I'm part of an electric co-op with a utility manager that has been arrested for dui, convicted of beating his ex-wife, and on top of that stuff he used to flip me the bird every time he drove past our house simply because I had to call the Public Service Commission to get the utility to trim the tree above the power lines. I still wouldn't take a private equity firm though.
- I would never consider doing business with a morally bankrupt monster like that. Your utility manager on the other hand sounds like an interesting fellow.

If they’re only selling you natural gas, I’d get a heat pump with some solar panels and disconnect the natural gas line.
- Good idea but doesn't help us renters a ton.

I actually work at CenterPoint on the electric side. We all hate the execs just as much as all our customers. I wish the union would cover more than just linemen.
- Why do you hate the customers 😆
  
  They're an electric company
- Can you not approach the union and look to expand who they cover? I can't see why they would reject having a larger membership.

Depriving the people of basic necessities will be a growth industry in the apocalypse.
Look forward to VC firms buying basic utilities like they bought housing. They’re positioning their portfolio for the end times.

I got that email too. I am so fucking mad.
I do most of my cooking in my electric appliances so I can avoid most of my stove, but I can't do much about my water heater and I have yet to get myself to take a cold shower regularly, so i may need to move if they turn out to be real cunts.
- That was my gut reaction too but what happens when this happens to the electric company as well?
  
  We are fucked. Unless you have the wealth to both own a home and put solar with battery backups then you are tied to your local utility, and if that utility is owned by a hedge fund you are in trouble.
  In a lot of states utilities have lobbied the governments to put strict rules on solar as well, because it is a threat to their business. So even if you have a good solar set up and want to still be on the grid they could force you to either take parts of your solar down or not be on the grid at all. That is all theoretical I haven't heard of a utility forcing a homeowner to remove panels though, I have just heard that they throw up roadblocks to putting them up.

This is bad news - hedge funds buy profitable businesses and immediately go to work cutting back services to pay the purchase cost down faster. Expect less customer service, less options, and higher bills incoming.
- Kill your elders. (Not really)
  There's no solution to this, and time is just a salve. Call me slightly pessimistic, but I think the only thing that'll ultimately bring about any change is a decimating thermonuclear war.

Heat pump water heater and HVAC. Induction range. Plug the gas line.
- Natural gas is far and away some of the most cost efficient methods of providing heat for temperature control and cooking.
  The electricity you're using to run the pump and the HVAC will more than likely exceed the cost of the gas. My Houston electricity bills can get into the $600/mo range during heat waves, while my gas bill never gets above $50.
  This is going to fuck people sideways, without a doubt. But hedge funds are already dick-deep in the electricity market. You're not escaping capitalism by plugging your gas line.
  
  ... during heat waves? Yes, heating is generally cheap during those.

Wondering what's happening around here, meant to dig in.
I travel 30-miles out to my camp in the NW Florida boondocks. Solar is booming around here. "They", whoever they is, put in a huge farm to the north, and a bigger one just went up to the south. There's another new road marked, "Bla, bla, whatever, Solar Project". I've got lost and stumbled on yet a 4th monster farm.
While I hate to see hundreds of acres of ecosystem literally burned to make space, it seems worth it. But where is that stunning amount of power going? Who owns it? Is my house getting that power? Is it lowering my bill? Can we draw the local (coal?) power plant down?
I'm all in for nuclear, but I'll take solar all day long. Been screwing around with cheap panels at home and camp to charge 12V deep-cycle batteries. Works great! One more panel (3x) and I can drive the trolling motor on my tiny boat free and clear!
- I look forward to seeing you trolling on here!

Louisiana has always had an issue with overt corruption but complete private capture of a utility is still beyond the pale. Good on you, Louisiana for finally twisting all the knives.

55 comments