A Boring Dystopia

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 bitch 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 bitching. Modest being the key word here.