>This logic is just not describing what happens in practice. If the government is giving someone monopoly power then yes, but under normal conditions someone tr

>This logic is just not describing what happens in practice. If the government is giving someone monopoly power then yes, but under normal conditions someone trying to execute this strategy just goes bankrupt because competitors will undercut them in high demand periods and supply power in normal periods. That doesn't track with my experience (Northeastern US). While I can choose from multiple companies to provide me with electricity (using the extant infrastructure as mandated by the public utilities regulator), the owner of that infrastructure (in my case Consolidated Edison) charges more for delivering that electricity than the cost of the electricity itself. As such, it doesn't really matter who is providing my electricity -- I end up paying more for the "delivery infrastructure" regardless of my $/kwh costs.