i didn't really have any experience with it before, but from what i can see in front of me on my bills, the problem with electricity costs in ontario is not the government, it's the private sector - and the solution is a bigger role for government, and a smaller one for the private sector. what i'm seeing is confirming all of the scary predictions that opponents to privatization brought up during the catastrophic mike harris regime. we should be taking actions to undo this, not carrying on with it.

my second bill, which is going to be more like what an actual bill looks like, is going to look something like this:

usage:  178 kwh (this is maybe a little higher than average, because i'm still adjusting to things)
cost of electricity: $13.84

i wouldn't have much to complain about if my bill was less than $15. i'm doing my part, here: i'm being responsible with my usage. and, the state is rewarding me with a reasonable price. so, what's the problem?

well, then the private monopoly steps in...

delivery charges: $24.12.

(and, you can hear them slap the bill down on the counter while they say it, with a bit of a hellish laugh.)

so, i'm paying the company twice the cost of my electrical usage, as a fee for the privilege to do business with them, as the only option in town. this is preposterous, but i'm paying the company, here, not the government - the government can't order them not to do this, but has actually offered a rebate system to offset it, if you're poor (and i am).

this is the largest component of the bill, by far. and, it simply shouldn't exist at all. thankfully, my $68 rebate should make the bill go away altogether, once it gets applied in full. so, what is happening here, in fact, is that the government is stepping in to reverse the price gouging being done by these private companies.

so, how do you fix this?

well, it doesn't make sense to have competing energy companies; you'll need a monopoly on the lines, anyway. it never makes sense to lay two paths between two endpoints and then force people to compete over which is cheaper; just use some graph theory to find the shortest route, and then pile bridges on top of each other, if you must. electricity lines should be publicly owned for the same reason that roads, cable lines and telephone lines should be. and, then, what you're doing is putting up a front to the line monopoly; there's not an actual choice, there, but merely the illusion of one. these front companies for the line monopoly would not choose to compete with each other, anyways, because competition would be damaging both to each other and to the line monopoly. so, the actual reality of such a thing would be that you could choose which company logo you like the best, while they all offer the same thing. and, if you think this is an exaggeration, let me direct you to the cable internet line monopoly in ontario, where what i'm describing is the actual state of affairs on the ground. there's a dozen different companies that all want to sell you exactly the same thing.

the only difference between a line monopoly and a total monopoly is that a line monopoly creates superfluous jobs in management...

but, would a government charge such an exorbitant fee for delivery? well, it's not entirely clear why there ought to be a delivery charge at all. and, i think a government would actually fold pretty quickly under public pressure, whereas a private entity like enwin will just tell us all to eat cake.

the solution is that we need to retake public ownership of our electricity generation in this province, and stop these private companies from profiting off of what should be a resource held in common.

jagmeet singh must cut his beard.