Sandeep Vaheesan
This conflict has been present since the very inception of the electric grid. Starting on Pearl Street in New York City 1882, Thomas Edison built the first power station to cater to the wealthy. Private finance had little interest in ensuring mass electrification. Investors were looking for high returns on investment, and that meant prioritizing large cities, industrial customers, and wealthy households. And so, at the turn of the century, municipalities entered the power market to electrify communities that were being left out. For a period, there was a complementary relationship; private power would serve lucrative areas while public power served everyone else. But this was unsustainable.
Municipalities had multiple tools at their disposal. In many cases they issued private power companies term-limited franchises, allowing them to transfer to another company once the term ended. These franchises were essential for private power companies — they wouldn’t be able to operate without them. The franchise gives the utilities the ability to use roads and public space, and many municipalities realized that this gave them leverage over rates and quality of service. Additionally, municipalities had — and still have — eminent domain powers to acquire and operate private power companies as public agencies. Many cities exercised this option in the past. These are tools waiting to be picked up again.
At the grassroots level, there was a common view that private power companies had captured local institutions, so not only were customers getting expensive and unreliable power, but they were also making a mockery of electoral democracy. That is not so different from what we see now. At the time, there were candidates for office who were committed to the cause of public power and very skilled at translating these arcane issues into everyday…
Auteur: Sandeep Vaheesan
