I can also recommend this analysis by Jess Hill in mid-2014: https://www.themonthly.com.au/issue/2014/july/1404136800/jess-hill/power-corrupts https://www.them

I can also recommend this analysis by Jess Hill in mid-2014: https://www.themonthly.com.au/issue/2014/july/1404136800/jess-hill/power-corrupts https://www.themonthly.com.au/issue/2014/july/1404136800/jes... Quoting: "Since 2009, the electricity networks that own and manage our “poles and wires” have quietly spent $45 billion on the most expensive project this country has ever seen. Allowed to run virtually unchecked, they’ve spent vast sums on infrastructure we don’t need, and have charged it all to us, with an additional fee attached. The spending was approved by a federal regulator, and yet the federal government didn’t even note it until it was well underway." As you intimate, the whole AU vs state vs private interests approach to power supply leads to a breathtakingly poor result for citizens / consumers.