My bill from my power company SDG&E, San Diego Gas & Electric, has a charge on it that is very interesting. It is called the "CTC", "Competition transition charge." The text reads "Through this charge, SDG&E recovers costs for power plants and long term power contracts approved by state regulators that have been made Uneconomic by the shift to competition."

So Capitalism strikes again, I pay a fee every month to my power company. I have no choice in the matter , because there are no other electrical companies that I can switch to if I am unhappy with the service. This fee is levied because the power company feels they have lost revenue due to some regulation by the state.

How is that free market capitalism? Sounds like a monopoly to me. So who is upset by this? Dems or Repubs? Osg or L2? I await the results...

There is no such thing as a free markets in America. There never has been. Ever.

Keep in mind that you can't solely blame the power company either. Those sorts of fees have to be approved by the legislative, at least at the state level.

The big utilities are one of the few things where monopolies make sense. You can't hardly have a half dozen companies building a power grid in the same area.

I do like the model where the protected monopoly is allowed to exist only if it provides discounted use of its infrastructure to would-be competitors. So, at least you get a bit of competition to drive efficiency in the administrative and customer service areas, since that's what differentiates the available offerings at that point.

Power deregulation has been an interesting study that the "gubmint so inefficient" types don't like because you had a series of natural monopolies replace a wild-west capitalism system, and exist as such for the better part of a century. During this time, while still making money, the approximately half private / half public power industry kept end user (consumer, industrial, municipal, etc) power costs so low that when deregulation hit in the late 1990s, we got the exact opposite of what the Cult of Friedman folks said was going to happen.

It was so bad in California they had to re-regulate portions of it (this was around the time of Enron) because there were rolling brownouts and little old ladies with $500 electric bills. The other huge power market, Texas, fortunately didn't go so hog wild.

Now the system was by no means perfect, and there was a lot of infrastructure improvement that simply did not get down late-70s through 90s, but it's not like any of that is being done now either.

I ran across a similar story recently, I think for Florida. Residents received a set of 'free' CFL lamps from the power company, and then later noticed a charge for them on the bill. The charge added up to considerably more than a new CFL, and you got it whether you wanted it or not.

That notice sounds like court bait.

I went through my history and couldn't find it - I seem to remember they were fighting it, but were not getting much legal support.

Energy companies and telecom outfits all have you by the short and curlies. Yes, you don't have put gas into your car or have electricity in your home or carry a cellphone or have an internet connection but the discomfort of boycotting these products and services is greater than the pain of getting screwed over by thinly veiled extortion. I gave up on reading my utility bills and just paid them while trying to leverage it by using less. Still you can only turn the thermostat down so low or take so many combat showers or try to read in dimly light areas before the elation from the utility bill reduction doesn't offset the level of discomfort having been endured. It went along with when gasoline was 4 bux a gallon. I am still going to buy the stuff, but every excuse to not burn that precious juice was in full effect. If it was a nice day and the trip less than five miles round trip....well, hello heal-toe express. Still, when its gets to be about 33 degrees and raining...give me that 4 dollar gas please and all the dry, heated car interior that it comes with!

After all...you don't want Mr Jones coming back....do you?

give me that 4 dollar gas




Well, it was those higher gas prices that got me back on a motorcycle, and yesterday as I was riding to the station to fill up for the week after washing it, I was delighted to see the mileage hit 1337!!! :D

Should have a 2k riding season, if the forecasts bear out.

I love this world sometimes. I'm waiting for the season to end so the temperature will be tolerable enough to ride again. Dropped below 100 over the weekend and I finally got back out on the road for at least a morning.

'Dropped below 100 over the weekend and I finally got back out on the road for at least a morning.'

- Rofl, those kind of temperatures would shut Britain down :P

It sucks some serious ass, been biking for my morning commute every day, bout 5 miles each way. It's nice and refreshing in the morning when it's 80, in the afternoon when I go home, I feel like I'm going to die in the 100+ heat.

- Rofl, those kind of temperatures would shut Britain down :P


Whatever happened to "Mad dogs and Englishmen"?

http://www.newsweek.com/id/213468

"Two weeks ago in Colorado, the state's biggest utility, Xcel, tried passing a surcharge on homes and businesses using rooftop solar power"

Fucking Xcel. Those bastards get enough of my money as it is.

Luckily our summer has been cooler and wetter than usual, so my bill has been lower than is typical.