Upcharge: Hidden Costs of Electric Utility Monopoly Power

Upcharge: Hidden Costs of Electric Utility Monopoly Power, is a deep dive into the problems associated with the 100-year-old model granting private companies exclusive power over the public resource of electricity – and a call for structural reforms to restore competition and equilibrium to the sector. The report details the true costs of the current utility model – to communities, the climate, and our democracy – and makes the case for breaking up the private monopoly, restoring competition to most of the electricity system, and removing the natural monopoly of electricity distribution from profit-seeking hands. Electric utilities meet the criteria for a “platform monopoly” because they use their exclusive control over their industry’s infrastructure – the electricity distribution grid – to obstruct competition and favor their own business. Utilities all over the country have been caught rigging bidding processes and manipulating contract negotiations to undermine competition. The report also shows how utilities use their control over consumer data to evade regulatory oversight and accountability.