[Episode #233] – Ending the Monopoly Utility

Can the energy transition happen fast enough if investor-owned utilities (IOUs) continue to operate the US grid under a regulated monopoly business model?

Our guest today says no.

These profit-driven utilities have used their monopoly status to protect their market position and undermine the energy transition. Their control over generation, transmission and distribution systems allows them to fend off competition and slow down progress toward a cleaner energy future.

That’s why John Farrell of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) argues in a recent report that it's time to break up these utility monopolies, shifting grid ownership and control to the public. In this episode, we discuss how today’s dominant monopoly utility model arose, why it persists, how it is an impediment to the energy transition, and what can be done to reform the utility business so that it serves the public, and not the other way around.

Guest:

John Farrell is a co-director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) and directs its Energy Democracy Initiative. For the past 18 years he has promoted and written extensively on the benefits of local ownership of decentralized renewable energy. He also hosts the Local Energy Rules podcast and is a frequent conference speaker.

On Twitter: @johnffarrell

On Mastodon: @johnfarrell

On the Web:  John’s page on the ISLR website

Recording date: August 8, 2024

Air date: September 18, 2024

Geek rating: 5

Links

John Farrell, “What the Monopoly Utility Model Really Costs Us,” Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR), May 30, 2024.

John Farrell, Upcharge: Hidden Costs of Electric Utility Monopoly Power, Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR), June 2024.

David Morris, The Dawning of Solar Cells, Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR), 1975.