this post was submitted on 10 Apr 2024
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Quite simple actually. The supplier knows how much water it puts in the pipes, and consumers have meters that measure how much water they take out of the pipes.
Water is water... It doesn't matter if you're not getting the exact same water molecules put in by your supplier.
Think of it like this... You have a jug of water. The supplier puts in a glass of water, and you (the consumer) take out one glass of water. The quantity of water in the jug stays the same, but you pay the supplier for how much water you took out.
It works the same way with electricity.
Tap water is not just water. Water has a bunch of other things in it besides water. The main reason I can think to choose a different water supplier than the cheapest is the water quality. If the cheap supplier is gonna crap up all the water for everyone else, what's anyone incentive not to go with the cheap supplier? Doesn't that pretty quickly devolve into a monopoly?
With electricity, it is just electricity and people have opinions about how that electricity is generated. But even there, it's usually not a good thing. It leads to high pressure, scammy sales tactics that result in higher bills for no benefit.
Hypothetically, what if my electricity, in my shitty profit seeking corporation, cycles inconsistently?
What if my equipment at my rinky-dink substation fluctuates between something absurd like 40hz to 70hz.
This would be extremely dirty electricity\ electromagnetic pollution.
If you're all using the same wires, you're subjected to those problems even if you don't contract with them. So multiple suppliers doesn't fix the issue. It just introduces more suppliers who can have those problems.
Exactly! A shitty race to the bottom even for electricity is my point.
Never under estimate capitalism's ability to create a shittier alternative, is all I'm saying.
That would destroy the entire grid and a lot of equipment. It's why texas had rolling blackouts a few winters ago, it's a fine balance between supply and demand to maintain stable voltage and frequency. Failure to do so can result in a LOT of damage. If you don't have enough supply, you have to reduce demand.
Why would this electric company care? Would the company not sell the customers a solution?
Can be solved by putting a certain quality requirement for putting water into the pipes. Suppliers can compete on price.
It's not realistic to have multiple pipe systems covering the same area. Digging pipes is very expensive. Digging multiple networks of pipes is insane. This solution is the best compromise to have multiple suppliers serve in the same area.
If the only difference is price, how does that not just devolve into a monopoly or shitty sales tactics to try to trick people into paying more for the same product?