the.com/municipal utilities
the government-run monopoly that keeps your lights on and pretends it has no competitors, because it doesn't.
means publicly owned water, power, gas, or sewer systems run by a city or local authority instead of a private company.
from grew out of the progressive era, when cities got tired of private gaslight and streetcar monopolies price-gouging residents and just took the infrastructure back themselves.
scaleover 2,000 public power utilities exist in the us
pricingoften 10-15% cheaper than investor-owned utilities
profit motivelegally owned by the ratepayers, not shareholders
oldest examplesome date back to 1800s gas and water works
for instance
los angeles dwp — largest municipal utility in the us, serves 4 million people
chattanooga epb — built its own gigabit fiber network starting 2010
seattle city light — carbon neutral since 2005, city owned since 1902
austin energy — city owned since 1895, funds austin's general budget