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While I agree with your sentiment, this was not exactly a private operator: this was a rural electric cooperative, that intentionally runs close to cost hile ho

by clcaev 6y ago

While I agree with your sentiment, this was not exactly a private operator: this was a rural electric cooperative, that intentionally runs close to cost hile holding reasonable reserves. Its voting members were distribution cooperatives, whose voting members are individual households. This is about as sane as a platform ownership as one might have. This is not an obvious problem nor solution. As posted downstream, risk of polar vortex was even known and discussed by the general manager of the facility: https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2014/08/f18/karnei_statement_denver_qer.pdf https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2014/08/f18/karnei_s...

eqvinox 6y ago
The cooperative that went bankrupt isn't the platform that the argument applies to. In fact, you could create another cooperative without much trouble and start a parallel implementation of the same scheme. This really applies to the power grid itself. Even the power plants aren't covered by the argument, since if you have a reasonable grid, you can build another power plant of any kind you feel viable in some reasonably suitable place. [Ed. add.: the grid is actually the market. It facilitates the transactions between power plants and consumers.]
- clcaev 6y ago
  If this cooperative was not the platform, what exactly is the platform being discussed? Why do you could think one could recreate such a large cooperative like this without much trouble? Isn't the likely outcome of this bankruptcy a sale of assets to private equity: a situation that can probably never be reversed? What do you think this cooperative did if it was not facilitating the transactions between power plans and consumers? I'm confused by your assertion.
  - eqvinox 6y ago
    > If this cooperative was not the platform, what exactly is the platform being discussed? The power grid is the platform; I'm not sure how the original poster intended to apply the platform argument to the cooperative. As far as recreating the cooperative goes: it doesn't need to start large, and I'm reasonably sure it doesn't hold much in assets. My understanding is that this cooperative is simply a collective of buyers who "pool their shopping", so money flows in and back out. A new cooperative may need to work its way back up to bulk pricing, but that should be doable?

by clcaev 6y ago

eqvinox 6y ago

The cooperative that went bankrupt isn't the platform that the argument applies to. In fact, you could create another cooperative without much trouble and start a parallel implementation of the same scheme. This really applies to the power grid itself. Even the power plants aren't covered by the argument, since if you have a reasonable grid, you can build another power plant of any kind you feel viable in some reasonably suitable place. [Ed. add.: the grid is actually the market. It facilitates the transactions between power plants and consumers.]

clcaev 6y ago
If this cooperative was not the platform, what exactly is the platform being discussed? Why do you could think one could recreate such a large cooperative like this without much trouble? Isn't the likely outcome of this bankruptcy a sale of assets to private equity: a situation that can probably never be reversed? What do you think this cooperative did if it was not facilitating the transactions between power plans and consumers? I'm confused by your assertion.
- eqvinox 6y ago
  > If this cooperative was not the platform, what exactly is the platform being discussed? The power grid is the platform; I'm not sure how the original poster intended to apply the platform argument to the cooperative. As far as recreating the cooperative goes: it doesn't need to start large, and I'm reasonably sure it doesn't hold much in assets. My understanding is that this cooperative is simply a collective of buyers who "pool their shopping", so money flows in and back out. A new cooperative may need to work its way back up to bulk pricing, but that should be doable?