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As long as a service provider can pass those costs onto customers and there is no alternative service, it can't be economical to make repairs. You'd be expendin
by sidewndr46 4y ago
As long as a service provider can pass those costs onto customers and there is no alternative service, it can't be economical to make repairs. You'd be expending capital to decrease revenue.
- wongarsu 4y agoBut everyone is facing roughly the same forces here. You either spend money on maintenance, or you lose money in leaks. It's a tradeoff, but any place outside SF and NYC seems to determine that the best place in that tradeoff produces barely any leaks that a pedestrian would notice.
- Scoundreller 4y agoWater distribution works the same way. Large systems lose like 10% of their supply through leaks in the system but just pump more through the system to make up for the losses. Just like drug smugglers.
- kevincox 4y agoThis doesn't make sense. Price isn't set by the cost of service. You could fix the leaks and still raise the price to increase your profit margin.
- zamnos 4y agoThe energy market in California is highly regulated and the prices consumers pay are fixed by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), and are designed to cover the utility's costs, plus a "reasonable" profit.
- sidewndr46 4y agoIf it was an absolute free market with no barriers to entry sure. I've never lived anywhere that energy, water, or sewer was a free market. My natural gas supplier for example (which is used primarily for heating where I live) routinely raises prices and always flouts state law. My only option would be to discontinue use of natural gas, which would cost me even more money.