Bury the power lines

[TheTravellers]

Only utility companies get bashed for raising their prices as the price of everything goes up. Not saying they are fair, but that is simple economics.

Utility companies are a public service, their rates need to reflect reality, but they keep getting more and more increases that are above the rate of inflation, etc., as far as I know. They do not need to make a crazy profit, they are a public utility service company. People need electricity, gas, etc., and the companies that supply those things need to not be a for-profit company, IMO.

[TheTravellers]

I don't bash colleges for raising fees or tuition, within reason. OG&E had to spend hundreds of millions at one time to recover from the storm last year. Not saying their rates are rising commensurate with the costs they truly incurred. I am not here to defend the big bad electric company. Just that raising rates when EVERYTHING is more expensive right now seems fair. Just my opinion. I understand that people want utility companies to almost be not for profits, But they are for profit entities, so they raise rates when costs increase, like they have now.

Public utilities need to not be for-profit companies. Why can't the USA do the right thing - provide electricity, gas, etc., - the basic necessities for living, without profit, everybody needs these things. America - exceptionalism at it's finest, when fleecing everybody absolutely possible, because MERCA!!!!!!

[chssooner]

Public utilities need to not be for-profit companies. Why can't the USA do the right thing - provide electricity, gas, etc., - the basic necessities for living, without profit, everybody needs these things. America - exceptionalism at it's finest, when fleecing everybody absolutely possible, because MERCA!!!!!!

Because even then, it isn't free. It would involve massive, wide-scale tax reform and increases...

[Scott5114]

Because even then, it isn't free. It would involve massive, wide-scale tax reform and increases...

Why would there need to be taxes involved at all if it was a not-for-profit company? You would still have an electric bill, based on usage, that would pay for the cost of running the company. There just wouldn't be a need to bring in more than they spend; breaking even would be a success. We already do this with water.

[jn1780]

At best the customer is paying the same cost, worst they pay more.

I know everyone has this Scrooge McDuck view that OGE executives are swimming in pools of dollar bills, but money is not stagnant, profits can turn into losses real fast. A company that is showing a lost of profit or zero profit is the company that is not getting investor interest. A non-profit would have to invest for the future somehow. Now we can argue that money isn't being invested for the future infrastructure properly, but that takes a lot more number crunching than a one liner statement saying "OGE made X percentage points in profit this year".

[GaryOKC6]

At best the customer is paying the same cost, worst they pay more.

I know everyone has this Scrooge McDuck view that OGE executives are swimming in pools of dollar bills, but money is not stagnant, profits can turn into losses real fast. A company that is showing a lost of profit or zero profit is the company that is not getting investor interest. A non-profit would have to invest for the future somehow. Now we can argue that money isn't being invested for the future infrastructure properly, but that takes a lot more number crunching than a one liner statement saying "OGE made X percentage points in profit this year".

Totally agree. there are a lot of factors such as the size of the high usage grid. In OKC it is 620 square miles. It is hugely expensive to maintain it. Especially with all the new development being added that requires huge electrical demand. Also the cost of electricity is directly affected by the cost of natural gas.

[TheTravellers]

https://www.publicpower.org/public-p...tats-and-facts

[PhiAlpha]

It should also be noted that over the last year fuel costs for natural gas have been consistently double or triple what they were over the last decade and that does not take into account the huge spike during Jan/Feb 2021. Though there’s a separate charge for fuel cost alone, I would imagine that increased commodity pricing somehow factors into the rate increases as well.

PSO/AEP also just had a rate increase in January.

[Bill Robertson]

On South MacArthur they are getting ready to set one if the huge metal poles for a major distribution line. I've never seen one of these poles so close to a street. The concrete pier is almost against the curb.