AFAICT, the Continental US does not have a fully connected grid. This allows electricity providers to charge wildly different rates depending on the state/regio

AFAICT, the Continental US does not have a fully connected grid. This allows electricity providers to charge wildly different rates depending on the state/region. It also requires each net to individually ensure capacity and uptime. Having a connected grid is a requirement for being able to transfer energy from places with significant amount of renewable energy (solar, wind, hydro) to others. Even if this comes with large losses in transfer it is still a net positive. Especially if you factor in the resulting stability.