06-02-2013, 06:34 PM
This idea is about as Socialist as you can get. I hope you were up in arms about the SuperFerry. THAT was "shibai". Was this downtown attorney filing a class-action then?
KIUC was formed out of self preservation plain and simple. Had nothing to do with fighting a monopoly. The existing power company wanted to quit so they formed a non-profit and bought the utility just so they could keep the lights on. I'm pretty sure there were no bidding wars for the company, $215M for 32,000 accounts to run a utility? Not a very good business investment in any market.
Kauai residential is paying $10 for account service and $.42/KWh. Not a whole hell of a lot cheaper than here and their rates will have to go up if they retrofit to accept solar to the grid just to pay for the changes.
Agree with DanielP, the worst thing that could happen is having the State take over. You really expect costs to come DOWN? Personally, I have absolute faith in the government screwing up ANYTHING it touches.
Your argument is fundamentally contradictory. On the one hand you advocate the essence of the free market - competition. Yet you argue that competition is stifled and therefore this utility should be socialized. You assume that there are in fact, other players that can, and are willing, to compete in this very small market (yes, even Oahu is a small market in this game) at the level that HECO provides.
HECO exists in a Natural/Geographic monopoly. What is the alternative? Allow other companies to put up their own transmission lines, power plants etc..split the market in two then what?
How many abandoned lines, transformers, solar arrays will be left once the competitor goes belly up?
No one is stopping you from going off grid. Helco is no more obligated to buy your surplus as you are obligated to buy their power.
The GNOME cracks on them for not retrofitting their system to incorporate solar. Why should they? Because they are making a profit they should do something that equates to financial suicide?
Only governments do that.
Perhaps someday HECO will be forced economically by the MARKET, to revamp their system and integrate a million solar/wind generation plants owned by homeowners and businesses. Either you buy/lease their infrastructure, or violate their 14th Amendment rights, and steal it from them.
Either way, renewable energy technology (aside from nuclear) has yet to evolve to the point where it can replace conventional power production at the same level of reliability and power demand.
Kudos Mr. Carroll. Every ambulance chaser dreams of cases like this.
KIUC was formed out of self preservation plain and simple. Had nothing to do with fighting a monopoly. The existing power company wanted to quit so they formed a non-profit and bought the utility just so they could keep the lights on. I'm pretty sure there were no bidding wars for the company, $215M for 32,000 accounts to run a utility? Not a very good business investment in any market.
Kauai residential is paying $10 for account service and $.42/KWh. Not a whole hell of a lot cheaper than here and their rates will have to go up if they retrofit to accept solar to the grid just to pay for the changes.
Agree with DanielP, the worst thing that could happen is having the State take over. You really expect costs to come DOWN? Personally, I have absolute faith in the government screwing up ANYTHING it touches.
Your argument is fundamentally contradictory. On the one hand you advocate the essence of the free market - competition. Yet you argue that competition is stifled and therefore this utility should be socialized. You assume that there are in fact, other players that can, and are willing, to compete in this very small market (yes, even Oahu is a small market in this game) at the level that HECO provides.
HECO exists in a Natural/Geographic monopoly. What is the alternative? Allow other companies to put up their own transmission lines, power plants etc..split the market in two then what?
How many abandoned lines, transformers, solar arrays will be left once the competitor goes belly up?
No one is stopping you from going off grid. Helco is no more obligated to buy your surplus as you are obligated to buy their power.
The GNOME cracks on them for not retrofitting their system to incorporate solar. Why should they? Because they are making a profit they should do something that equates to financial suicide?
Only governments do that.
Perhaps someday HECO will be forced economically by the MARKET, to revamp their system and integrate a million solar/wind generation plants owned by homeowners and businesses. Either you buy/lease their infrastructure, or violate their 14th Amendment rights, and steal it from them.
Either way, renewable energy technology (aside from nuclear) has yet to evolve to the point where it can replace conventional power production at the same level of reliability and power demand.
Kudos Mr. Carroll. Every ambulance chaser dreams of cases like this.