~ Doomsday Debate: Asteroid Threat Could Divide Society ~

Discussion in 'Science' started by LongTermGuy, Aug 28, 2014.

  1. Mircea

    Mircea Well-Known Member

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    I never said they were. However, in spite of your false claim, there are power companies owned in whole or in part by county or city governments in the US.

    Yes, because they are referred to in Economics as "natural monopolies."

    Because you are ill-informed, you're unaware of the exorbitant cost to build, operate and maintain an electric power generation plant.

    Power generation plants are useless unless there are high-tension transmission lines to deliver the electricity.

    High-tension lines deliver electricity to transformer and switching stations. From there, it goes across low-tension lines to main-stations and sub-stations. From there, it goes telephone pole-to-telephone pole to your home.

    So, what you're going to build an operate a power generation plant in Hamilton County, Ohio (population 895,000)?

    Yeah, well how many customers would you need to pay off the debt to build the power generation plant?

    So, all 100 of your customers are going to pay for the financing of your power generation plant, plus the costs to operate and maintain it, plus the costs of building, operating and maintaining the high-tension transmission network, plus the costs of building, operating and maintaining the low-tension transmission network, plus the costs of building, operating and maintaining the transformer, switching, main and sub-stations, plus the cost of the consumer delivery network?

    Really?

    Are you going to charge them $100,000/kilowatt hour?

    That's why electricity is regulated.

    You build the power generation plant, and if you don't have your own high-tension network, you rent someone else's high-tension network to deliver your electricity to the transformer and switching stations, where you sell your electricity to someone else, and yes, you'll be renting the transformer and switching stations unless you own your own.

    You sell your energy to Duke or FirstEnergy or any of the others.

    Because it is impossible to have multiple networks, you build one network and everyone shares those resources, but it requires regulation by a neutral body to ensure those resources are shared fairly and utilized to their fullest capacity.

    Why would there be?

    Have your 4th Grade Geography teacher go over the maps with you again.

    This is the United States, not Iceland.

    After you understand maps, give your 10th Grade Government teacher a call and have them explain federalism to you.

    Economics fail.

    The reason electricity is a natural monopoly is because there are natural barriers to entry into the market.

    What constitutes a natural barrier?

    Population.

    I mentioned Iceland because it has a population of 379,000 people.

    The cost to build a 600 MW power plant is $2 Billion+. That's just to build it. The cost to operate and maintain it is more. They have a life-span of about 70 years.

    So, in the name of "capitalist competition" you're gonna build four 600 MW power plants in Iceland?

    That would cost $8 Billion.

    If average annual kilowatt consumption is 10,000 hours per person (it's 10,000 hours per household in the US), then you're gonna charge them $11,500/kilowatt hour to pay off the debt in 70 years?

    Yeah, right.

    That's why electric utilities are regulated.

    Economics fail.

    There's no such thing as "capitalist competition."

    It is the Free Market that provides for competition, not Capitalism.

    Why don't you learn the difference between Economic Systems and Property Theories and get back to us.

    You lack of knowledge doesn't allow you to understand that you can have Capitalist Property Theory paired with Soviet-style Command Economic System.

    Yes, all Capital would be privately owned, but the government, or a non-governmental organization would set prices and/quotas.
     
  2. fmw

    fmw Well-Known Member

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    I can't even imagine what set off this nonsensical rant but I'll avoid responding to your posts in the future.
     

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