Part of the problem is that utilities are in many cases not incentivised to minimise their costs. The electricity rates they charge are determined by governmen

Part of the problem is that utilities are in many cases not incentivised to minimise their costs. The electricity rates they charge are determined by government-appointed commissioners, and the basis of that calculation has historically been a fixed rate of return on capital. So for a utility the normal rules of business don’t apply - the more you can increase your costs, the more money you make! Wikipedia has a reasonable introduction to this here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rate-of-return_regulation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rate-of-return_regulation