Utilities: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

[@greenjelly01]

"The shareholders are their customers, and your bill is their product" - What an AMAZING quote!! Applies to many companies beyond just utilities.

[@jschuler53]

Have you read Attention Merchants, The New Gilded Age, and The Master Switch by Tim WU? He talks at length about how digital media users are tripartite in commerce. They are all at once the user, the consumer, and the product when interacting with digital media. I agree this concept applies to much more than digital media usage.

[@honeyglazeham9621]

Fines are just a sunk cost of doing business.

[@milascave2]

green: pretty much all of the, actualy. That is how the laws in the USA work. If you have shjareholders (If you seel stock in your company) you are legaly obligated to do anything you can to make you cpmapany as profitable as possible.

[@tboneforreal]

@@milascave2 Yes, you have a fiduciary responsibility to the shareholders, but this does not mean, you have to do anything to make the company as profitable as possible. What it means is that the CEO and the board of directors have to make decisions that benefit the company and shareholders over themselves. The pressure for higher stock prices (which aren't always aligned with profits) comes from the shareholders themselves, not the law.

[@AdMiKa]

Reminds me of this line from The Incredibles. Bob: We’re supposed to help people. Mr. Huph: We’re supposed to help OUR people!! Starting with our stockholders, who’s helping them out, huh?!

[@jokuvaan5175]

Here in Finland the utility companies are required to pay their customers compensation for every minute spent without power due to faults. Let's just say it has really motivated them. And of course there are regulation on what they are required to do to ensure safety. I haven't had an outage in 6 years.

[@adambrazee3858]

….And another reason why you’re better than us, damn I’m jealous.

[@echung168]

How do we get this into America? Sounds like a great idea! It puts more stress on PG&E and other utility companies across the US to be better and rely less on only the profits.

[@jokuvaan5175]

@@echung168 For starters change your election system from "winner takes it all" to proportional representation. Then you'd have more choice in parties than just corrupt and more corrupt.

[@kurtfromMichigan]

another win for Finland

[@mermaidismyname]

Meanwhile in Texas the power companies started charging people MORE for power when it was out for a week in freezing temps when basically no one in Texas knows how snow works

[@WinterSo1dier]

I love how corporations are “people” when it comes to voting rights (illegal campaign financing) but when it comes to responsibility for horrific actions… “we’re just a company. We’re not criminally liable.”

[@TK-gd9td]

the fucked up part is that campaign financing and lobbying is also not illegal but has the same or greater effect than an individual's vote.

[@WinterSo1dier]

@@TK-gd9td I understand that it’s technically not illegal (as it’s currently allowed). But if they were classified as they actually are, a company with limited campaign financing rights, they would be conducting in illegal activity. They have the best of both worlds. Both worlds are screwing the common men/women

[@intosound913]

Or that they spend more on lobbying then it would to just be human and help those you are killing in the first place.

[@oftinuvielskin9020]

+

[@eponymousIme]

I was thinking the same thing at that point in the show.

[@zaynab-to-a]

I love how John's obituary describes him as "aspiring comedian"

[@rexrocker1268]

Well is he really a comedian? Does he do standup comedy he wrote himself? All this he has writers and he’s a funny performer. But I can’t call him a comedian.

[@dustinhale7268]

​@rexrocker1268 he does do standup that he writes himself. It's not the funniest, but it's not the worst either

[@rexrocker1268]

@@dustinhale7268 He’s a good performer. I think I disagree with him 75% of the time on this show. It’s almost all pick this one thing out of a million that looks bad and acts like that’s the norm. I bet in real life he’s not like this he’s an actor. And of course he has writers he can’t do this himself that would be impossible.

[@carmenhbell]

​@rexrocker1268 pretty sure he was writing for the daily show when he landed this job... he's definitely a talented comedic writer on his own accord and then yes, also has writers on his team as well

[@rexrocker1268]

@@carmenhbell Well it’s not always about the writing it’s also about the delivery of the performer. He’s ok I guess.

[@Zurround]

This show is personal for me. I lost everything in a fire that PG and E was held liable for and luckily I have had help rebuilding my life due to a settlement fund from a class action lawsuit.

[@pixxburgh420]

How much did you get? Any chance you could send me like 22,000 bucks? I just want a 2022 bmw s1000rr, that's all. I'd really appreciate it. Thanks!

[@gshak33]

@@pixxburgh420 Wtf?

[@driwen]

sorry to hear and glad to hear you were able to recover from it.

[@stoneman28]

I guess the warning from Erin Brockovich fell on deaf ears

[@SavAJ23]

@@stoneman28 was that not ab toxic chromium found in water runoff????

[@solarprotommy]

This is the reason I chose to make a career in solar energy 5 years ago. Every home I put solar on takes a lifelong customer away from them, and it's a beautiful thing. Utilities should never have been allowed to be publicly traded companies.

[@minuette1752]

As long as solar keeps improving and requires less material and creates minimal waste.

[@gorak9000]

I highly doubt the houses you install solar on are 100% self sufficient and completely disconnected from the grid

[@kathleentheg]

Agree, honestly the stock market is what ruins so many companies.

[@brettmcnamara7867]

@SolarProTommy Do you have any relationship with Titian Solar out of Arizona and Florida or know who they are? Just wondered...my best friend is a co-owner.

[@lindseyp9131]

I am very uneducated about solar but it doesn't always mean you're off the grid right? Like your energy from the solar panels gets routed to the local energy company and offsets your costs rather than directly powering your home? Is that true?

[@robbingcars9140]

Nothings screams “I’m the villain” like “Oh this poor black rural church community is looking for a publicity stunt by having their own electricity because it’s more affordable than us, the big electric corporation that has no other competitor because we monopolised all of electricity in the entire state of North Carolina.”

[@darylcarr8283]

Jesus, even though Wheeless was clean shaven, you can see his mustache twirling while spitting that bile...

[@ashannaredwolf8485]

Literally stopped the video to scream "what the fuck" at my computer. Every time I think I have no incredulity left...

[@robbingcars9140]

@@ashannaredwolf8485 just remember…it can always get worse lol

[@robbingcars9140]

@@darylcarr8283 everyone can have a Monopoly guy moustache if you set your mind to it

[@philgiglio7922]

@@robbingcars9140 "so I cheered up ...and things got worse"

[@l00neyville]

"PG&E is a fire company that occasionally delivers power" cracked me up :D

[@shawnjorgensen2951]

Whoever came up with the “aspiring comedian” epitaph deserves a raise, genius.

[@meghan6438]

And did you see that booty? John deserves a raise

[@AlvaTheWayfaringKnight]

The biggest comedian is nature. I guess we are getting a flea bath now.

[@AlvaTheWayfaringKnight]

I'm a cockroach so yer ass will deal with me forever.

[@kristyhwang8899]

Jon Stewart and Bill maher

[@lorigoshert6667]

Audience laughter slowly starts to build at "grinding" because we all know John's not going to let that just go by.

[@Viking_Luchador]

😅

[@Isaacrl67]

It still amazes me that we get some of the best news coverage from comedians. Sometimes, John's show is like an entertaining version of 60 Minutes.

[@cybersiku6846]

When the news is so bleak we need someone to talk about it without completely traumatize us. It is a nice balance: horrible systemic failure = joke about a sexy cheetah

[@danarzechula3769]

More accurate too

[@IRosamelia]

Ditto to the above regarding Real Time with Bill Maher 😊

[@chrisprilloisebola]

lol such great high quality "news coverage" by john oliver XD nice one

[@graham1034]

And the worst. Tucker Carlson says he's an entertainer.

[@rebecca8525]

I googled the name of my utility company and “scandal” and I found quite a bit of scandals. Then I googled the name of my favorite high school teacher and “January 6” and thankfully, found nothing bad.

[@conniegarvie]

🤣🤣🤣

[@EmpyreanLightASMR]

I've refrained from googling past teachers because I don't want to see their obituaries :( A lot of them were older.

[@splendidcolors]

@@EmpyreanLightASMR same here

[@daoneandonlyJJ]

Just to be safe. Define bad

[@allprofits3092]

LOL

[@KealohaHarrison]

Twinkle Cavanaugh, Chip Beaker, and Larry Householder sound like names you’d expect to find on a fake ID a teenager made to get into cheap bars

[@RepTyler]

Chip Beaker sounds like the full legal name of "Beaker", assistant to Dr. Bunsen Honeydew on the Muppets.

[@MutatedFaith]

"I want my name to be Spaghetti."

[@tovekauppi1616]

Like characters in a children’s book or cartoon characters.

[@melteddali8000]

When he was arrested Householder was the literal speaker of the house and the previous year a different ohio speaker had to step down after being arrested by the fbi. I remember making jokes about whether Ohio could go 3 for 3

[@ronaldbrush4373]

They sound like names Simon Miller would come up with.

[@MrT4of5]

In my Washington State county, we got fed up with our “for profit private utility company” and voted to form a Public Utility District, which removed them completely as they had no choice. Now our infrastructure is upgraded, our power stable with fewer outages, our costs stabilized, and now they are installing fiber network and will be the ISP to compete with the other monopoly.

[@AriellaLilien]

Yeah, I googled mine but in my city all of the utilities are run by the government, which I guess is why I don't have a horror story about them (not that I'm complaining, lol) It's also worth noting that there was still a class-action lawsuit they settled for improperly billing people, but that seems to be the biggest scandal

[@philgiglio7922]

Every time it rains, hey it's FL it rains several times a week, the phone/internet junction box on the pole just outside our fence line takes on water and the speed drops to near dial-up speeds. The box needs a new rubber seal. Tech tells me it's fine for voice. Yeah, but it's strictly data, no landline phone.

[@PvtHopscotch]

I hope y'all can push that further. Public power is wonderful. Oddly enough, the only state with FULL public power is Nebraska. Weird, right? Now, we've got our problems BUT electricity isn't one of them. So that's nice.

[@TaleDreamer]

@@PvtHopscotch That's... Yes that is weird lol. Go Huskers.

[@josephhicklin7313]

I'm also in Washington State and I had the same result. I looked up my provider (which is a public utility) and "scam" to only find a similar city name in Ohio that didn't have a public utility... which was littered with scandal XD Public utilities are pretty great. We even have a project for investing in public solar projects for residents who might not have good sun exposure over their houses.

[@mndlessdrwer]

I've said it before, but it bears mentioning again: I'll believe that corporations are people, deserving of protections by our constitutional amendments, when Texas executes one.

[@MrWhangdoodles]

That is extremely forward and backward thinking. I guess that would be an inversion.

[@mndlessdrwer]

@@MrWhangdoodles they don't get the benefits of protections intended for individuals if they can't be held accountable to the same standards.

[@Mrshoujo]

Used an extra needless comma.

[@i_am_aladeen]

Halfway through your comment, I was wondering "What side is this person on? Come on, man... Oh wait! Hah, that was clever! 100% agree."

[@loridrblake9770]

I’d buy tickets to that 👍

[@Lilpandapaw]

John, don’t forget about PG&E’s earlier handiwork - the 2010 San Bruno Pipeline Explosion. I still remember seeing the smoke from the freeway after work. Funds which were supposed to be used for safety operations got diverted into bonuses and such. It is a truly vile company.

[@LeSethX]

While I remember that explosion, my fav example of how bad PG&E is was a proposition in 2015 supported by PG&E to redefine renewable energy to EXCLUDE solar because San Francisco was starting up a new utility, and we had to have a competing proposition (H) to say that, yes, solar energy is renewable.

[@startide]

The company isn't vile, the people running it are. I think it's important that all those decisions are made by people, who chose to do those things for profit.

[@kathrynmceachern9503]

My brain broke when I read the headline that day, "33 dead, it's a miracle more weren't killed!" I didn't even have the money to buy a paper, so I was left with that headline with no idea what horrible thing had actually happened.

[@abwab-g8n]

What I remember (vaguely) is how they were caught cheating and influencing the regulator that was solely able to hold them accountable

[@markcross3492]

Run by Satanists for the glory of Satan almighty and the profits all go to the Satanists. always and forever. amen.

[@andrewwest3204]

That's a nice touch at the end when discussing PG&E employees. Often times the grunts and low level employees are amazing people - its the corporate heads that are horrifying.

[@Vanderearden]

Andrew West: And the shareholders.

[@user-dg4se3cz4o]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/jpyulo1teqalldE Finally it's here

[@LuckyLiegeLady246]

I like how you call them grunts like they’re Team Rocket or something!

[@katiekane5247]

Corporate structure everywhere.

[@mtn1793]

Sounds just like Congress!

[@davidbryden7904]

"Fun fact" PG&E has held the title 'most hated utility ' in California for all my 65 years! Quite the accomplishment!😏

[@Illlium]

How do you even do that? I'm no accountant, but wouldn't it be cheaper, or at least more efficient if instead of paying bribes and fines they'd repair the grid? It's like these people actually think the rapture is right around the corner.

[@poststalone1496]

isn't it's only competition Edison? not saying it isn't an accomplishment being more hated than them but still lol

[@gjvnq]

Sounds like a statization/nationalization is long overdue

[@four1878]

APS in Arizona is corrupt too.

[@zed739]

@Bradley yeah, we like it better when the door is closed so we can pretend like there isn't already corruption without limit

[@nomore6167]

Here's a fun fact: Eversource, the electric company for western Massachusetts, has an agreement with the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities which guarantees Eversource a fixed revenue amount every year. If their revenue doesn't reach that amount, they just add the difference as a line item on customer's statements the following year (and, to be fair, if they exceed that revenue, they refund it as a line item on customer's statements the following year). Think about that for a minute -- they're guaranteed a certain revenue regardless of the number of customers, regardless of the amount of electricity distributed, and regardless of performance. In fact, the company's marketing is constantly harassing customers to reduce their electric usage, which makes perfect sense because that would increase the company's profit. Here's another fun fact -- Columbia Gas (the natural gas company in Massachusetts) literally blew up some businesses and several houses by overpressurizing the gas lines because (according to them) they failed to move a sensor from the old line to the new line when they installed a new main line. I've been told that Columbia Gas is no longer allowed to conduct business in the state, so what happened to them? Nothing, of course. They apparently merged with Eversource (the two were both owned by the same parent company), so the statements now say "Eversource" instead of "Columbia Gas", but everything else is business as usual. Image if it worked like that for individuals. Imagine that someone gets a restraining order against "John Smith", so John Smith simply changes his name to John Doe and the government says "No, he doesn't have to stay away from you; you have a restraining order against John Smith, not John Doe".

[@Diphenhydra]

I take it you’re also from Massachusetts. Well, in the words of Obi Wan Kenobi, “hello there.”

[@mindikruse6938]

I know, it's just maddening.

[@ernest3286]

Honestly, your first example seems like it's not a bad way to go. It removes some of the perverse incentives that encourage bad behavior. They're not gonna be spending money on useless projects, and there's regulation that prevents them from just pushing up consumer costs. Not a perfect system by any means, but about as good as it gets within our current system.

[@amyx231]

@@ernest3286 I agree. If it’s gotta be a monopoly, giving them a set allowance instead of a blank check is a good way to go.

[@mrb152]

Wait.... reducing electrical usage is bad now? This seems like the system is working really well if the incentive is to reduce electrical usage.

[@LeBonkJordan]

Perhaps the one Texas law I can get behind is basically an application of the death penalty for corporations. It's called "involuntary dissolution" and it absolutely needs to be applied at the national level.

[@Abel-Alvarez]

@@SuchDoge4242 true that. Plus corruption knows no boundaries when it comes to laws and such.

[@arthurmichell3527]

My dad has worked there for about 30 years and he’s always said, even the employees say it stands for “Pure Greed & Exploitation.”

[@ladybluelotus]

Damn.

[@minuette1752]

Yea most people who work for such places now whats up but really cannot do anything about it.

[@chrisprilloisebola]

better than socialism kiddo

[@minuette1752]

@@chrisprilloisebola Socialism is near perfect as long as the leaders are not corrupt and honest about everything and willing to do anything it takes to help the people of their nation.

[@jamex7704]

Slowly I realize why John Oliver moved to the US - that country is so throughly fucked up that he has material for his show worth dozens of lifetimes

[@BlueRidgeBubble]

It was the money

[@nunya3583]

& free speech...

[@maartentoors]

And the popcorn over here in Europe tastes great!

[@inoob26]

@@BlueRidgeBubble what part of the original comment didnt include money? More material = more shows = more money

[@Marijuanifornia]

All the worst things about the US came from Europe.

[@desure]

Years ago I discovered that ConEd is overcharging a segment of customers a few cents each month. I called a class action lawyer and provided the proof he was very excited. After looking into it he came back and said that the utilities are protected and can't be sued by class action. So they are still overcharging those customers

[@rightweaponry908]

My friend that works for ConEd told me that a lot of times the workers don't want to check each meter of every building so they will check one and use that number for the whole block. They just out here making up numbers. My apartment has soo much light i only turn on the lights at night, only in the room i am in, and my electricity bill is still over 100$ a month, it's madness.

[@randibgood]

And they're doing it LEGALLY! This is one of the major things wrong in this country. If I enter into a contract with someone and don't do what that contract states I will do, I will get litigated to the point of losing ALL of my belongings, my house, my cars, literally everything I own. Because I'm not a corporation.

[@enzocouillens6767]

You should Go Solar!

[@johndoe-ss9bz]

They pay money in campaign contributions to write laws that loophole overcharging. The Corporations are Above Criminal-Law in our Country.

[@IndicatedGoodLife]

Haha ConEd. Fitting name for the work.

[@evanpatterson7098]

"just the way it's been" is good enough reason to me to change something.

[@ICountFrom0]

If I was Lego PR department, there would totally be a set "A little tree and you figure out the rest" and John Oliver would totally be awarded it as a stunt, for him to auction off for the next big fundraiser he does.

[@ktinxx]

Splendid idea! 😄

[@vs1753]

they do have a basic blocks kit...

[@adriansandlin556]

Isn't it funny how when it comes to lobbying and political contributions, corporations are people. But the moment they face backlash it becomes "you can't punish a corporation because we're not individuals". Which is it gonna be? They should never have it both ways whenever it suits them.

[@gregmcfarland5189]

Jail every individual with 3 letters for their job title in the company. CEO CFO COO CMO CIO They are the brains of the corporations. Let them take the punishment.

[@mccorkleknight]

"Corporations are people too my friend". That quote still boils my blood. It is absolutely insane.

[@Scnottaken]

You might not be able to jail corporations, but you sure as heck can execute them. Let's start using the death penalty on corporations instead of people

[@tboneforreal]

Yup, all the rights of people, but very few of the responsibilities.

[@Vegas242]

Same idea for profits of course, did they make a whole crap load of money at the government's (read public taxpayer's) expense? Well good for them they should get to keep it freedom of business and all that. Did they lose a ton of money and are on the brink of bankruptcy? Oh no how terrible we really need to help them out.

[@grumpyotter]

Every time John tackles a topic, the solution is "remove the profit motive." EDIT: And I agree with him. The drive for profit over all else leads to horrific abuses.

[@mardu2010]

Where basic human needs and rights are in question, profit should be a bonus and not a motive

[@faraaq]

Literally every. Single. Time.

[@grumpyotter]

@@mardu2010 I agree 100%. The drive for profit has led to the worst abuses in human history.

[@WalterTheWalrus]

Capitalism at work ladies and gentlemen

[@ednabeckwith8185]

I love this man and James O'Brien God bless everyone in the world

[@Godzillarex]

That puppet segment at the end was extraordinarily well made, seriously, haha

[@RinRiot1980]

He’s right - I just googled my electric company and found out that they were fined almost half a million dollars for illegally shutting off people’s electricity during the height of the pandemic - and I didn’t keep scrolling after finding the most recent scandal. There’s probably more to be found. Too bad $471K is nothing to them.

[@rench55]

Of course it's "nothing to them"... They're not paying the fine, you are.

[@cherbear1996]

Our electric got shut off during pandemic when it was 28⁰..law says has to be above 32⁰ and below 105⁰..called utility commission..not a thing done...another time they mistakenly cut off my mom n others while working on transformer..she was on oxygen, electric would be out for 2 days or more..no warning..told me to take her to a shelter..My mom..never left the house soo..we managed..got portable tanks delivered but still..their fault? Should have offered a hotel..pluckers..

[@artespeck8091]

Fucking disgusting

[@bagochips834]

When a fine for doing a bad thing is less than the money made doing the bad thing, that fine just becomes a cost of doing business

[@ICountFrom0]

They were not fined half a million. You were.

[@solas6342]

"You can't take a corporation, and put it into prison" Well I think its high time we went ahead and fixed that, eh?

[@ToddHowar.d]

Death penalty for companies that cause deaths through negligence.

[@CollinM24]

@@ToddHowar.d I dream of the day the Supreme Court weighs in on giving corporations the death penalty…

[@chadachwilliam5515]

The only way to fix that issue is to remove the causative factor. In every case the big problem is the LOBBYIST system keeping the rich rich. Terminate those people first, then track down who they gave money to in order to manipulate the system

[@cadesmandela1935]

Love johns self awareness about how many animal jokes he makes

[@fogrepairshipakashi5834]

He always pokes fun at himself, one of the many reasons I love him.

[@janedoe5048]

Love johns. Love it, just love it. Right up there with Twinkle.

[@j24130]

His writers "self" awareness but yeah anyway

[@majesticpbjcat7707]

@Don't Read My Profile Photo didn't.

[@majesticpbjcat7707]

@THIS no it isn't.

[@brothersandsistersofvalhalla]

Fun Fact: In Canada utilities are run by a provincial agency that is heavily overseen by the government. Hydro One (the utility company for Ontario) got into huge trouble for raising people's bills suddenly and it resulted in an investigation.

[@hanktrill]

And the flooding/destorying of Indigenous lands to create hydro dams

[@jakeryan9469]

I live in TX where the grid failed, people froze, the governor did nothing to require better maintenance, & the utilities openly paid him off. Also, this episode had a really unsettling ending.

[@SweetLeo01]

Not to mention your senator left for Cancun and blamed it on his daughters, while senators from different states provided aid

[@WoefulMinion]

On a similar note, we had six power plants in Texas shut down when the first high-temperature days hit early. We're in for a long, long summer....

[@WoefulMinion]

@@SusanKay- And they had the gall to say it was "unprecedented." Like we don't remember the massive freeze a decade earlier, when limited power and resources were diverted to Jerry Jones and Cowboys stadium .

[@brian2440]

@@WoefulMinion Well statistically speaking it was unprecedented.

[@WoefulMinion]

@@brian2440 Yes, I should have said that they ought to have been better prepared knowing the weather Texas has experienced before.

[@CarmeloEstablier]

You guys should totally look into Puerto Rico’s case, where power was publicly owned until last year and prices ever since privatization by LUMA have risen more than 80%, while we have repeatedly sustained constant blackouts.

[@TheModdedwarfare3]

YIKES! Perhaps it's not too late for you guys to take your power back.

[@CarmeloEstablier]

@@TheModdedwarfare3 yikes indeed. They are horrible. It’s just another example of the gov corruption that runs the public institutions. They slowly selling the state to private entities.

[@michaellesko7141]

PREPA’s grid was in shambles. Y’all didn’t take care of shit, because of funding.

[@CarmeloEstablier]

@@michaellesko7141 more like the funding for said infrastructure was grossly mismanaged and embezzled.

[@AbsentWithoutLeaving]

@@TheModdedwarfare3 Power to the people, baby.

[@rgwak]

As a person in California, I can confirm that PG&E and ranks right up there with finding someone else's hair from your favorite burrito place and rush hour traffic at 5:30 pm when you have to pee like crazy.

[@orunenf5533]

It's like Larry elder should've been elected but yall couldn't elect a black man with a better plan...

[@aluisious]

It doesn't compare. That stuff is uncomfortable and annoying. PG&E kills dozens of people, repeatedly.

[@GhostChiliTaco]

@@orunenf5533 LOL oh hell no! LOL

[@orunenf5533]

@@GhostChiliTaco pg&e has caused more deaths than you or i... yet let just promote tesla as the solution... u realize how stupid that sounds?

[@ImoniFatty]

@@orunenf5533 are you out of your mind? You wanna Florida our California?! Fuck no! Larry Elder, just like Arnold Swarzenegger would’ve fucked Cali’s economy. Currently California is over $150 billion surplus.

[@rashkavar]

Commenting on the show in general, it's fascinating to watch as a Canadian. There's so many issues this show tackles that are also big problems in Canada, and then there's stuff like this where the issues are completely different, and, at least in this case, dramatically less horrifying. In Canada, a number of systems are run by the government through something called a crown corporation - that is to say, it's a corporation that's owned by "the crown" (meaning the government). While most corporations have the built in assumption that their owners - the shareholders - desire profit above all else and strive toward that presumed demand, crown corporations know exactly who runs them, and their corporate boards are made up of people appointed by the government that handles what they do. (Generally that's the provincial government.) So they know exactly what their owner wants from them, and in most (all?) cases it legally is not and cannot be profit. Power generation and distribution is one of these here in BC, falling under BCHydro (yes, we have so much hydro power that it's the hydro company, not the electric company - even saying "the electric company" sounds weird to me) And while there are certainly problems, basic maintenance of their network is not among them. It's not uncommon to go more than a year without a blackout, and when they do happen it's almost always because someone was driving like an idiot and managed to knock down the local power distribution lines. They can usually manage a quick patch job (enough to get the lights back on) in less than an hour and have a new pole up by the end of the week. We get bigger issues when we have big storms, of course - sometimes we get a big pacific storm that knocks down a bunch of trees and gives them a hundred or more things like that to fix at once. But since it's happening during a very wet windstorm, there's no fire issue. The biggest issue we have to worry about is government shenanigans. ICBC - the automotive insurance crown corporation here in BC - had its financial reserves (which insurance companies save up in substantial quantities so they have money to pay out when some big storm comes in and causes several big pileup collisions, for instance) gutted by the previous ruling party, who was quietly directing it to general revenue (while not even telling the minister of transport, who is on the board for ICBC) so that they could say they were running on a balanced budget. (Running a balanced budget is a big political prize in Canada, particularly on the more conservative side of politics. It's difficult to manage, and requires a lot of trimming costs and such, but it's not so bad that it's not seen as possible.) So the Liberals (the more conservative of BC's 2 major political parties) ran ICBC's reserve into the ground, basically didn't campaign in an election, and then let the NDP walk into power and announce that ICBC rates had to go up because of the reserve needing to be rebuilt. I avoided using the term "corruption" because the funds that were diverted were being diverted into government revenue rather than into someone's pocket, but it's so very close that you'd honestly have to ask a lawyer if it counts. But this kind of thing is really rare, and unlike PG&E's unmaintained power lines, doesn't actually kill people. (Or if it did, the method of assessing that blame is a hell of a lot more complicated than "people died in a fire started by PG&E's failing infrastructure.")

[@04beni04]

I'm in Ontario, and this sounds pretty familiar. I'd just like to add that when it comes to the parties, things are marginally better than in the US because at least it's not _technically_ a two-part system, but sometimes it feels like no matter who you vote for, you're voting against your own interests. Not a fan of corruption? Good luck finding a party with enough political heft to give their (apparent ) integrity teeth. Wish you could use your vote to support bodily autonomy as a right? Your choice might be between someone who is better at image than substance, and someone who doesn't recognize the inherent conflict involved in speaking at an anti-choice rally _while in office_ . I'm not going to pretend Sweden is a utopia -- there are lots of problems with Swedish culture that their excellent PR obscures quite efficiently -- but danged if I don't think they got a couple things right. Comparatively no opportunity for graft, government positions that are almost entirely service-oriented, and functioning proportional representation. Just imagine the possibilities!

[@rashkavar]

@@04beni04 Here in BC it's almost as much a 2 party system as it is in the US these days. We have the NDP and the Liberals (who have grown increasingly Conservative since the downfall of the Social Credit party...who also started out rather left of Conservative, because the *actual* Conservative party appears to have died in the Great Depression). We do have an up and coming Green party, but like at the federal level, they're a bit player with a handful of seats who only really matter when they get to decide which minority party gets to form government. At least we don't have the same party politics at the municipal level. Vancouver and a few other cities have municipal political parties, but they're not closely linked to any provincial or federal counterparts. Those of us in the smaller communities tend to just have concerned citizens/miscellaneous busybodies running campaigns mostly solo. Which makes for interesting electoral debates, sometimes.

[@rhiannonyeadon8753]

Unfortunately Nova Scotia's power is owned by a private for profit company

[@NickCharabaruk]

@@04beni04 Ontario Power Generation is a weird one, being run as a corporation but with the province as the sole shareholder so it is pretty arms length. The province selling most of its shares in Hydro One was a bit of a shitshow though.

[@grahamrigs]

About the "hydro" name, it's pretty damn universal. I'm in MB and we have Manitoba Hydro so we use that name too, but my cousins who have spent their whole lives in AB (a province with 0 hydro), still call it hydro

[@danielgoode]

I took an elective for my engineering degree that was almost entirely spent covering Alabama Power and how to figure out their rates (It was at The University of Alabama). The professor said that if we could understand Alabama Power's unnecessarily complicated rate structures, we could figure the rates out for any other state/country with ease. It was a difficult class.

[@Shinigami13133]

Was he right?

[@danielgoode]

@@Shinigami13133 So far, yes. I haven't had to calculate rates much though, fortunately

[@pugachevskobra5636]

Longtime Alabama power customer and yeah they’ve been skinning us alive forever.

[@davidbouchard5451]

That is a dark comedy if I’ve ever heard of one

[@rtensor]

The corruption in California's regulator (CPUC) is incredible. PG&E was hit with a $200 million fine for the fires which the CPUC waived. An employee of the CPU, Alice Stebbins, discovered another $200 million in various other fines over the years that had never been enforced. The CPUC fired Stebbins as soon as she brought it up. It's complete regulatory capture by PG&E.

[@randomjunkohyeah1]

How do those people sleep at night knowing that they’ve been made into the obedient drones for a company that they’re supposed to be reigning in?

[@MonkeyJedi99]

@@randomjunkohyeah1 They sleep on a bed of payoffs, probably.

[@Demmrir]

Look, the purpose of America and Americans is to deliver value to shareholders. If you don't hold millions in shares, you don't matter.

[@matthewgagnon9426]

@@randomjunkohyeah1 They sleep on a bed of money.

[@LostSnipeHunter]

After the blowup when PG&E went bankrupt during the Enron scandal (and subsequently was taken over by bond investors who massively curtailed maintenance and reinvestment to boost shareholder value-contributing to a spike in scandals) politicians realized that interruptions/threats of interruptions could have serious blowback that would get them recalled or fired (oh and people could die and businesses/jobs leave) so became willing to do basically ANYTHING to avoid it ever happening again. Take that new attitude and mix with campaign contributions, cushy post regulator jobs etc)...complete regulatory capture. The problems of being captured don't make headlines/can be pushed to the next term/job holder but the price of enforcing the rules could get you fired.

[@michaelwtm]

As an Alabama resident, you have no idea how happy I am to finally get to hear John ream Twinkle and the Alabama PSC. They literally run ads about fighting the Washington liberals when their job is ONLY to regulate the power companies.

[@michaelwtm]

And it WORKS

[@chrisprilloisebola]

lol mald

[@LanaRay-ie7fc]

Ditto by this AL resident

[@marcovinaccia8496]

Love the ducks annihilating peas 😂😂

[@BladeBloodreaver]

Here in the Netherlands, the infrastructure and "selling of electricity" are seperated. While the infrastructure company is something you have no influence over, the company that actually supplies the electricity you do have options in. Plenty even. This creates competition between the energy suppliers and is good for us consumers.

[@jordanabendroth6458]

It depends on the state in the US, in some states the company that provides the infrastructure also provides the power (this is my situation), and in others, you can choose the company that provides your power and then your have a separate company for infrastructure.

[@andybaldman]

The Netherlands have a sense of doing what is good for people. America is destroyed by people only looking out for themselves. It’s a terrible place.

[@imperiallegionnaire6943]

They’re called utility marketing companies. That’s how gas works in the State of Georgia. Basically these marketing companies “sell” and bill ratepayers for natural gas…except all of the gas and infrastructure comes from Atlanta Gas Light, which is owned by the Southern Company, the electricity monopoly in Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi. In other words you think you have a choice; you get the illusion of having a choice, but all that gas comes from the same source.

[@galfinsp7216]

Makes as much sense as separating film companies from cinemas. Would it be similar levels of monopoly for them to make a streaming service?

[@DeeNorbert]

Same for Romania too the infrastructure is separated from “selling the electricity “ it’s the EU that makes it like this.Right now the whole EU is balancing the supply continent wide.

[@IAmMadMattDog]

the voice acting for Reddy Kilowatt was suprisingly good, usually any character trying to for the high pitch kid voice oversells the "hehe im childish" part but they struck a good balance between that and demonic entity without sounding forced, 5/7

[@rh8884]

Agreed, honestly a 10/10 for me. Menacing af but equally gleeful

[@limestone1709]

Sounds almost like monokuma

[@mmoncur]

It sounds like maybe the same voice actor who did Wikibear on Conan. Agreed, it was excellent.

[@NathanDavisVideos]

It was kinda funny yet actually low-key creepy at the same time. (Especially that little jumpscare, if you could count that as one, at the end.)

[@NathanDavisVideos]

@@limestone1709 I WAS THINKING THE SAME THING!!! Even that laugh; I swear it was Monokuma! (Any _Dangarompa_ fans here?)

[@BrandonFoltz]

Does anyone else watch this (great) show, read books on recent events, and try to somehow operate on a level of basic reason only to be pulled back down into the abyss of abject hopelessness knowing that none of this is likely to get any better, only worse? Largely because the systems that are supposed to be the mechanisms by which we can end the shitshow are themselves at best anachronistic or at worst being disassembled and corrupted?

[@sidarthur8706]

good. we're too complacent. the system's working barely well enough that most of us have too much to lose if anyone rocks the boat. let it get worse than we can bear and we'll get the guillotines back out

[@jamesrisse2173]

Brandon, the question you have to ask yourself is "was it ever better than it is now?" I would argue that in many ways societal living is similar to life itself - a continuous process of development and destruction.

[@TheQuantumWave]

And any attempt to fix anything is attacked as being politically motivated, anti-American, or some other nonsense. The rich created this country and they have controlled it ever since with only one goal: getting richer.

[@whowasibeing]

Yep

[@scottmerryman]

Yeah man, it's called "Monday"

[@asterix7842]

19:23 I like how the audience already starts to laugh nervously, anticipating where this joke is heading. Also, how John is described at the end as an “aspiring” comedian.

[@javel7777]

lowkey thought he’ll bring up the cheetah again

[@IndicatedGoodLife]

@@javel7777 Need to clap that cheeks

[@Demmrir]

Aspiring comedian made me laugh harder than anything else in the episode.

[@alumpyhorse]

I have to admit, I was spooked just thinking about how someday I’ll have to read that John Oliver has died. The world will be a sadder place (pretty much following the trend

[@AbsentWithoutLeaving]

Asterix -That was a typo. They meant 'expiring.'

[@Balablaaa]

The “aspiring comedian” in the endcard killed me. I was laughing very hard

[@user-dg4se3cz4o]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/jpyulo1teqalldE Finally it's here

[@theordinarychannel9334]

"PG&E is a less utility & more fire company that occasionally also delivers power to people homes" Classic John

[@alienexe9867]

as someone who was affected by the ohio power outage this summer, thank you for talking about it

[@KootFloris]

"It seems they treat their shareholders as customers and use the bills they send to the actual clients as the product." US capitalism personified in where it goes wrong.

[@user-dg4se3cz4o]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/jpyulo1teqalldE Finally it's here

[@josephhelgersonjoseph6115]

Pretty much.

[@alexb8560]

where it goes wrong? that's the system working perfectly dummy. "profits over people" has been how this system has operated for 500 years. the whole thing is rotten

[@TheZahirNT2]

It’s not just US capitalism; all capitalism puts profit over customer. It’s definitionally what “capital” is: accumulated wealth devoted to the production of more wealth. Not devoted to the betterment of society or to the benefit of consumers. The devotion is to the fantasy of infinite growth.

[@acbower4468]

@@TheZahirNT2 better than the alternative

[@brannontirin]

There’s also the coop model. These big companies often refuse to go into more rural areas… after all, even if they’re doing a shitty job of it - infrastructure costs money to build and maintain… and if a mile of line in a city comes with hundreds of customers, that same mile of line in North Dakota could mean 1 or 2 customers. So, rural areas often form coops: corporations that build and deliver power on a non-profit, cost-sharing, surplus-sharing, customer owned model. If my coop’s costs go down, or they make a surplus… instead of profits, my bill goes down or I get my money back (albeit sometimes on a delay- often they invest it on my behalf for a few years so they have a cushion in case of natural disaster or renovation). I get to vote on the board of directors. And for the coop’s employees… well, given there’s no profit incentive, the pay and benefits are often the best in the industry, the area, or both. The beautiful irony in this is that those customers are mostly conservative areas… who rely on a Marxist model for their electricity, water, sewer and internet. :D

[@samfilmkid]

Shhhh, don't tell them that!

[@IndicatedGoodLife]

Lmao that is beautiful

[@rcknbob1]

And the beauty of that is it historically began in the '30s with Rural Electrification. In fact, if your provider is an REMC, that was where those came from. When I was a kid, my mom would send me to the Johnson County REMC office to hand them our payment. That's where I saw the big cardboard cutout of Reddy Kilowatt, who never frightened or threatened me at all. So there!

[@randomjunkohyeah1]

Amazing!

[@bigcity2085]

In 2005 big telecom went to 16 states and told the legislators to not let any municipalities build fiber optic systems for their towns (because they couldn't compete). One town in Co. already had a fiber optic loop installed, so the state told them they would have to vote to give themselves permission to turn it on.(crazy,eh?)Then they sent in a big marketing firm, who stuffed everyone's mailboxes with junk mail flyers every day, that said if the loop was turned on,they were doomed: they would all die, the town would become a ghost town, the politicians had too much power,and on and on. It worked. 60% of the town said, "no don't turn it on." That's America,right there,in a nutshell.( eventually the town learned how to grassroots organize and now they have one of the fastest fiber optic systems in the nation.)Its amazing how hundreds of thousands of small businesses are able to handle competition, but big corporations cry like babies if they have to deal with any competition at all.

[@dad102]

Kudos to John Oliver for breaking down this depressing stuff week after week with a sense of humor. If I were a writer for his show, I would be proud of my work. I wonder how they deal with the sheer sadness of the content.

[@Ajhcr]

I’m guessing weed and or alcohol like the rest of us….lol…..

[@charliefhffh864]

Antidepressants

[@All_Loves_Lost]

I love how John Oliver always discusses the solution to all the issues he brings up on his shows-! I wish the people in power would watch his show and take his suggestions to heart-!

[@skeet719]

Me my entire life: "Wow this feels like a scam, but I can't articulate why. Maybe I'm being irrational. LWT: Not only are you both rational and correct, but also here's who is responsible.

[@Bill_Garthright]

Us. _We_ are responsible - collectively, I mean. But more specifically, anyone who doesn't *vote* - and vote Democratic - in *every* election is responsible. The worst thing about this is that it's frequently people on _my own side_ who have screwed this up. And it's only going to get harder and harder and harder to fix that going foward.

[@marianavaz2425]

99% of the time, if something feels like a scam is because it is.

[@IndustrialDoomHippy]

@@marianavaz2425 Sadly most everything is a scam now 😔 99% of the time.

[@csmith63]

@@Bill_Garthright Yeah, voting in every election and having Democrats was great for utilities under FDR and his New Deal that gave us TVA and Johnson's so-called Great Society extending even more government control into Appalachia were such WONDERFUL successes it's utterly astonishing people weren't eternal converts to having Democrat power rule over all!

[@IndustrialDoomHippy]

Sadly most everything is a scam now 😔 99% of the time and most of my time is spent chipping away at the total amount that there stealing from me vs the service I'm being "provided". The cost ratio to service or product quality is seriously not in balance or reasonable across the board for most all corporations. 😡 We are being sold snake oil every time.

[@kenwelch198]

There's a solar power supply business in my area that wanted to build a office off the grid (not connected to to power) and Duke energy has fought them tooth and nail through county inspectors to not allow it. Apparently you can't get final inspection unless you connect to the grid. And when the county tried to change the rule the full resources of the electrical power industry showed up with a bus load of lawyers to fight it.

[@CantankerousDave]

Comcast fought to make municipal broadband projects illegal in several states. And won. When a company is big enough to buy the government and have them make it illegal to compete against you, maaaaybe it’s time to break out the sledgehammer.

[@christopherlozada6411]

U know its scummy when you want out the grid but they do the final inspection 🧐. But this going on even where i live in puerto rico. They wanted to tax the sun 🤷🏾‍♂️

[@mostlyguesses8385]

... I think Utility doesn't want half of people to have Solar on roof with small halfday batteries for night and not need much power, then on cloudy week OF 7 DAYS happening once each 10 weeks all suddenly demand full power and want to pay the same rate. The utility then has to build and mainain 2 power plants , but only run the 2nd one 10% of time. Be fully off the grid and have $75000 of lithium batteries for the cloudy weeks, if you want to be on solar. But people only want to spend $15000 for solar cells and then run to utility cloudy weeks and pay $.1 kwh for daily 30kwh so pay $3 for cloudy day. I can't blame either side, utilties cant use 1 power plant 10% part time for all the solar people.. So maybe believe system isn't as evil or dumb as you are told,,. ,

[@Highyeena]

@@christopherlozada6411 get this shit, I live in the USA. In Maryland, where I'm from, they literally taxed people based on yearly rainfall on their properties. They called it the "impervious surfaces tax" but literally everyone dealing with it called it the "rain tax", because how much you got taxed was based on the amount of rainfall 🤦

[@jacobluco7076]

@@Highyeena O'Malley had a bunch of poor policy, and thankfully under Hogan it was revised. The point was to have dedicated funding for stormwater management, but the implementation was abysmal

[@Teejsfolly1929]

After the Camp fire, I kept getting calls from PG&E for months saying that my bill was due and that they would have to shut off power to my house... which had burned down during the fire they started. Then they raised the rates on the handful of houses that survived by 25%. Shameful.

[@Nicholas-f5]

Should be nationalized

[@user-dg9pu4pe9d]

Sorry for the loss of your home.

[@alexfischer2527]

I'm so sorry to hear that.

[@hollybug-76542]

After a particularly devastating earth quake on Santa Barbara many year's ago, one friend of my IL's meter had been badly damaged. The electric company insisted they owed over $36k on their bill. The company new about the earthquake, knew their equipment had failed because of it and still insisted the bill be paid. As far as I know the company made them pay the bill, although it may have turned out different after some litigation by the homeowner. I've never lived anywhere that had more than one utility company monopolizing the area. Gas companies have skirted this by making customers pick a supplier or having them pay a standard rate all year and then depending on the cost you either get a refund or a bigger bill. Mostly people get a big bill at the end of the year because let's face it, they like the prices high.

[@SharienGaming]

time to charge the CEOs with arson and murder - and hey lets add fraud on top for charging money for services not rendered

[@gailan572]

Woke up this morning to the second power outage of the weekend. PG&E definitely has a unique way of celebrating the start of summer.

[@shmooptydoopty7355]

I live in Eugene, Oregon. The monthly electric bill for my entire apartment complex is $200 Through the park and across the river, Springfield has COMMUNITY OWNED UTILITIES Over there there average monthly utility bill is $40 Like a credit union, the service is the local community helping each other Also, Eugene has lowered my utility bill down to $70 based on my disability/SSDI, but only since the covid

[@gigaus0]

We have something similar in Onondaga county, where one of the townships has a local utility [heating and electrical], and has for quiet a few decades. Thing is, it's illegal on a federal level, the only reason it stands is it's 'grandfathered in', meaning once the couple that owns it, now 87, no one can either take over the company and continue it nor make another one. Federal law prohibits it.

[@chrisprilloisebola]

funny how you putting "community owned utilities" in all caps is supposed to mean something xd

[@shmooptydoopty7355]

@@chrisprilloisebola just emphasis on the solution if folks wanna google what COMMUNITY OWNED means. snarky turd.

[@csp.9203]

@@chrisprilloisebola I suspect because that's the only way to put emphasis in these comments.

[@chrisprilloisebola]

@@csp.9203 thats not what i meant. I meant community owned doesn't mean anything and isn't the same thing as state-owned

[@mattheweburns]

Here’s the thing, in most localities with these utility companies you cannot just go off grid. Your home will be condemned if it is not connected to the power grid even if you produce your own power. No the power company will not buy your excess power back. But if you do have solar that is sufficient for your entire property you still have to be connected to the grid otherwise your home will be condemned. Laws like that need to change. The lowest itemized charge on my power bill is consumption per kilowatt hour, I pay more in fees than I do for usage. And to keep your hand from being condemned for being “off grid“ he would still be paying around $100 per month to remain connected using absolutely no power whatsoever. These types of laws need to change

[@CombustibleLint]

Yup. If I use $30 worth of electricity in one month during the summer, I'm charged an additional, approximately, $75 on top of that $30 in "delivery and service fees". And I have no idea what to do about it.

[@kentslocum]

The fees should be included in the price of electricity. Otherwise, they'll end up providing the electricity for free but charge a huge flat rate to everyone.

[@petem.3719]

In Florida, the electric company currently has to buy back excess electricity from your solar panels. They just passed a law to phase out that requirement starting next year. You can get an occupancy permit without being on the grid but if you try to get around them by using storage batteries, they'll still charge you a minimum fee just for being there, even when you're not hooked up at all.

[@dannybeane2069]

Heck and if you're generating more power then you use, you're paying them to use YOUR power.

[@MrKogline]

Disconnecting from the grid is "bad" because they don't want the next owner to abandon the house/lost property value. It is the same in most areas with water/sewage as well. Minnesota pays you back $0.07/kwh if you generate any electricity and covers 60% installation fees. There is also no sales tax added to any solar units (arrays, circuits, or batteries) if purchased in Minnesota. There is also the Residential Renewable Energy Tax Credit, which is federal.

[@angeliaparker-savage5401]

"The shareholder is viewed as the customer, and your bills are the product." That, in a nutshell, is the business model in the US. And just as an aside, The Wiggles were the only kids' show I could stand when my daughter was young. I still have some of their DVDs...lol

[@Gehzandersmeckz]

I litteraly had to switch over to the feeding geese when you brought that up. A sensational piece. Love your work John, and every one working on making this show

[@J-Pow]

My gas utility screwed me during 2021. They accidentally created two accounts and were double-charging me, but all of the customer service on the phone was gone due to COVID, they didn't respond to emails, and you couldn't go to their headquarters in person. I eventually had to submit a Better Business Bureau complaint to resolve it.

[@mitchclark1532]

I'm glad it got taken care of, although sorry you had to deal with it

[@AlicesMazduhs]

My electric company just further increased rates just in time for the scorching summer ahead of us. Mind you, my state has more than enough power in the summer and we don’t experience brownouts and aren’t told to cut back. However, even the smallest hurricane or wind storm will knock out power for hundreds of thousands for weeks due to underfunded line crews and a poorly mismanaged grid.

[@ToddHowar.d]

@@AlicesMazduhs where do you live? I’ve experienced two massive power failures in my life, the 2007 Oklahoma ice storm and the 2021 Texas Ice storm. Both times the grid failed due to deregulation leading to the grid being super immune to ice. It’s ridiculous.

[@Crimethoughtfull]

@@ToddHowar.d How does deregulation make the grid more susceptible to ice? I lived in OKC for many years and saw lots of lines downed due to those stupid freezing rain storms...

[@AlicesMazduhs]

@@Crimethoughtfull there’s federal standards that make lines more resistant to ice. I’ve only lost power once in my life due to a snow/ice storm and I’m much further north of Texas.

[@tjmichael4900]

I feel like this is happening everywhere and not just in utility. Construction contractor, realtor businesses, shipping container people, etc. Big fat heavy guys strong-arming their local officials.

[@MojoVince]

It's because wolrdwild works doesn't get the money anymore, it has slided to shareholders that get the money nowadays doing nothing... This system gonna break soon and that's going to be nasty, USA always ahead.

[@kracusomniax3933]

My state of Maryland has it with Construction contracting. That's mainly because the Governor is a land developer for commercial and residential.

[@d.h.4778]

We are falling behind on being so ahead in the world. Actually, we are going back in time and making it worse than it ever was.

[@itsmyboardwhotalk]

its just logical to do so, because thats how you earn the most money with less work, companies do it all the time. For example microsoft and apple bought thousands of companies just to destroy their plans because it could affect their business. and that is neoliberalism, the active influence of politics by big companies, while growth is acting as a meta control (the managers and politician have to keep their profit/control and make sure that this profit/control will be higher next year otherwise they lose their jobs. Also energy companies make sure that the ideal of growth never dies, because the energy companies constantly grow without competition while the needed energy also grows (those to factors just can end in a higher profit, specially if the state protect them in any way). That also was tested in south america, by hayek and the CIA. It is also a good example therefore that competition is mostly used to distract low players (everybody is disctracted by fighting each other instead of building strong political organisations in their favor) while high player like amazon, fb or just banks are to big to fail.

[@MojoVince]

@@itsmyboardwhotalk To big to fail is the mistake, civilizations collapsed because of the lack of energy and that's where we are going now.

[@aerialdarkguy]

Wish John Oliver also talked about ISPs, they aren't even treated as a utility or regulated like phone lines so they have even worse problems like lobbying to kill competition and doing data caps.

[@mattz9268]

That and an episode on the BS surrounding the DMCA

[@tookitogo]

Didn’t he do an episode on Net Neutrality already? And he’s done something on Ajit Pai, IIRC.

[@mattz9268]

@@tookitogo Sometimes he'll do follow up episodes if there's more to cover than what you can fit in one episode, or if the situations evolve/change.

[@zoanth4]

​@@tookitogo last I checked, the death of net neutrality didn't affect anyone's wallets as was promised. it hurt big tech companies and media groups

[@xxCrimsonSpiritxx]

Or introducing hard cap to your downloads and uploads to create imaginary "limits" so that you'd have to invest in better plans to overcome the problems that they created in the first place

[@something-from-elsewhere]

Our utility company is community owned! And the only things I could find when searching for scandals related to them were about PG&E and how it's a damn good thing we don't have to deal with them where we live haha

[@splendidcolors]

Silicon Valley Power in Santa Clara?

[@6666Imperator]

the waiter example is even worse than explained here: It is more like the waiter decides for you what to eat while at the same time getting a guaranteed percentaged tip at the end for the whole sum. So not only does he get the money no matter the quality of his service but he also decides how much he will get. Also the end was really depressing but great work! Also also it is strange to hear that the worlds most throatcut-capitalism country uses monopolies in certain sectors while preaching that monopolies and state interference/public owned companies are bad :D

[@nisnast]

that's the US for you, they preach capitalism but not really practice it.

[@plainText384]

@@nisnast capitalism just isn't suitable for all aspects of society. It would be hugely impractical and wasteful to build 5 separate electrical grids or train track networks running in parallel, in order to facilitate a locally competitive market. And for certain services like emergency healthcare, you just don't have the time to analyze options before getting care.

[@Leftistattheparty]

@@nisnast no it's capitalism still since it's still privately owned. This is a pretty logical conclusion of the structure of capitalism.

[@alveolate]

@@nisnast my country had to "divest" our subway ownership just to sign into NAFTA. so now we have a bus company that runs one line of subway, and a subway company that runs maybe 20% of buses - both companies have had to waste resources to expand into each other's industries, nobody has derived any clear benefits at all.

[@seregruin]

@@plainText384 meanwhile here in Europe, there are loads of power companies to choose from. And they obviously don't all build their own grid, the grid is publicly owned and maintained, as all basic infrastructure should be..

[@JoleenSmith]

I thought for sure this segment would have something to say about the electric grid in Texas. As a Texan, I can tell you our state is not okay. Just this past weekend, ERCOT was already telling people that demand was estimated to be more than the power available and to not use large appliances in the afternoon/evening and to set thermostats to 80+ degrees. In May. And it's only going to get hotter from here. Summer will be a killer. If they don't fix our power grid issues... then, literally.

[@eacey_]

they did do a segment on ERCOT kzbin.info/www/bejne/p3PTmouZrqdqrbc obviously it's not current, but it does get the point across that energy in Texas is a fiasco

[@captaincroissandwich6950]

I was honestly amazed ERCOT never got mentioned either, ESPECIALLY considering the disastrous aftermath of the cold snap a year and a half ago. They had every opportunity to winterize their infrastructure, and yet chose not to because of cost and a foolish belief that "it's Texas, it wouldn't POSSIBLY get THAT cold here". And best of all, they blamed renewables for the power shortage during that period, even though they only are responsible for about 30% of the state's power. But it's not exactly surprising; it's pretty standard for people in power in the south to blame minorities.

[@drgonzo1971]

@@captaincroissandwich6950 ERCOT didn't get mentioned because they don't own the power plants and had no power to require them to winterize. The real villains from the storm are the generators who failed to invest in winterization and the natural gas companies who took all the money.

[@kierasher1]

Well, this is about electric company monopolies that screw customers. Texas deregulated their market to eliminate those monopolies. If anything, Texas would be mentioned as solving this problem (as much as could be) better than other states. Power shortage is a completely different problem in that one monopoly can't just build plants and charge you whatever in the Texas system. There needs to be a good ROI and a private company needs to build it. The times in which power supply in Texas are so infrequent that the ROI just isn't there. ERCOT isn't an energy company. They just manage/schedule when all the privately owned providers are pushing energy since in an electricity grid you can't have too much more energy coming in that is being used and you can't have too little. It's a pretty close line you have to ride. That's their job. When they say there isn't going to be enough power, they look at the schedule for what is going to be shut down for maintenance, what estimated demand is, and what the weather is going to be like, then they calculate there will be a serious enough shortfall that people should be help alleviate. This is an inconvenience, but it isn't a monopoly hammering customers. The only way around this is with state government subsidized plants that don't care about ROI. The problem is that plants like that would directly compete with the privately owned ones, and they'll all cry foul. Elon Musk is in the state building giant energy grid sized battery plants that will actually help deal with this problem, but they take time to build.

[@luke-i1w]

@@drgonzo1971 I like how the generation companies blamed wind power for the black outs saying they just don't work in the cold...even though there are wind farms in much colder climates that never have an issue because they are designed and built with the cold in mind. Even worse are the people that believed them. I honestly think it was on purpose. They knew about how cold it could get in Texas because the EXACT same thing happened back in 1989. Instead of planning ahead for it, people with a vested interest in fossil fuels thought "Lets not do anything. That way we save money by ignoring necessary upgrades on natural gas plants as well as wind farms, and we can blame renewables the next time it does happen so they lose their foothold in our territory. Either way...we win."

[@minecrafter0505]

In Germany, the electricity providers (which are collecting payment and providing power to the grid) are a separate entity from the (state-controlled) company building and maintaining the grid itself. This allows people to choose their electricity provider sometimes with just a few clicks online, no matter "who supplies the area". This is a great alternative to state-owned electricity providers.

[@FabriSlv]

Same in Italy, and most of Europe I think (competition on the consumer side is mandatory by EU regulations). It definitely doesn't fix the whole system, but it's also clearly a step in the right direction, as it brings incentives for a lot of best practices without needing to rely too much on govt oversight

[@MithunOnTheNet]

@@FabriSlv Europe seems to do a lot of things much better than USA!

[@acopernic]

Another example of the Great Capitalism from the US and of course every american has some critics about socialism (the real one not the one sold by conservatives)

[@Alblaka]

@@MithunOnTheNet Geographical advantage. Europe's been around 'a bit' longer than the US, and opposed to being given a new continent with an abundance of resources (that you only had to steal from the Natives who couldn't resist), was always densely populated and in constant conflict over those resources... meaning Europe actually had to figure out how to use those efficiently.

[@Feja2503]

@@Alblaka Yeah but at the same time the US knew what Europe had and could do it better since they could start over in a resource rich country. Europe needed to improve and improve and old tech. Which is slow and not even always possible since newer stuff changes a lot in that time. Since they can be so different. The real reason is money and propaganda.

[@burakthecrow]

I love how iPhone (where to buy it from) is given as an example to freedom of commercial choice.

[@Stephizzlexx]

lol my thought exactly

[@MoriRaineMatsuko]

Where I live in Utah, Rocky Mountain Power tried to sue the state because too many homeowners were getting solar panels and tried to argue, "It's going to steal all of the sun's energy if this keeps up!". They almost won with that statement, but they did a really dumb compromise where you can get solar panels, but you still need to be connected to the power grid and have to pay them to stay connected. Even though you have solar panels, if you miss paying your bills, they can still shut your electric off. Being self sufficient is basically illegal in Utah and probably everywhere else.

[@SgtPowell]

"Do you want your fucking lights to go on and off?" delivered in that cute/creepy voice is comedy gold. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[@TwistyKitty]

I find it amusing that this was the topic this week considering I was informed yesterday evening by friends in Texas that apparently not only can the grid not handle intense cold as proven last year, but it also can't handle the heat either as 6 power plants shut down from the first heat wave this year.

[@kierasher1]

That's a bit of a grapevine thing. Those plants that are shut down were schedule for maintenance. The heatwave in mid may was not predicted since it's not usually that hot this time of year (literally was a record for the state), so they can't just magic up more supply. Since the plants in Texas are not owned by a monopoly or the state, the only ones that exist are ones that will be profitable. There is no mechanism wherein someone builds plants that are just emergency backup incase the grid is in a tight spot.

[@TheGman42087]

But that's what a stable power grid is for right? Unpredictable weather.

[@ChantingInTheDark]

And they're passing costs on, bills have gone up already. CPS Energy are criminals.

[@mermaidismyname]

@@kierasher1 her have had hotter summers every year for the past several decades, there's just no possible way to predict that it will be hot in summer in Texas /s

[@ZijnShayatanica]

I moved from Puerto Rico back to Florida & I'm really sad that many of my loved ones are still back there, knowing hurricane season is starting back up... There are grid fires & situations year round, regardless, but summer is always the worst. 😥

[@miles3908]

I never regret watching Last Week Tonight but it’s also so depressing sometimes.

[@catytheredheadedalaskan8118]

The good part is that he gives us a way to help the problems. I always focus on that - what we can do to make it better.

[@leeartlee915]

I have to skip some weeks and wait until I’m in a better headspace. He’s not wrong about these things but… yeah, not much we can do.

[@leeartlee915]

@@catytheredheadedalaskan8118 Yeeeeaaaaaaaah, kinda. I mean on the small scale we can do something but realistically, these problems are going to persist for a looooooong time.

[@orunenf5533]

It's depressing knowing the orange man that is bad is actually the orange man that is correct..

[@thedude5001]

As a european it really cheers me up. It shows how well thing are going over this side of the pond. Despite us complaining about things like wages not being indexed by law.

[@Devidra18]

El Paso Electric does stuff like this. There was a huge deal about how they would charge substantially more if you have Solar panels; this effectively prevented offsetting and required full power supply by solar.

[@rtensor]

This appears to be happening in states all across the country -- rules changes to make solar financially pointless. Nevada did it and their rate of new solar installations dropped by 80%. California is trying for the 3rd time to push through similar changes. Ohio, Indiana, and Oklahoma did it and now pay people a fraction of what they used to for generation. Arizona tried but a judge ruled it anti-competitive. It's amazing how little media coverage of it there is.

[@mtn1793]

To say the quiet part out loud these are the same “utilities” that are needed to fully cooperate with any serious attempt to take the energy sector carbon neutral. Any bets on which way their corporate sympathies bend?

[@DragonKnightJin]

"Screw the environment, we want MOAR MUNNY!!"

[@Mary_Beth_Reimer]

Ours is actually building some solar panel farms.

[@ayceod]

@@Mary_Beth_Reimer But, only because it will be cheaper for THEM. You won't see a dime of any savings.

[@bobhabib7662]

@@ayceod How is solar cheaper in any way??? Power companies literally have to build TWO plants now since it's not possible to only rely on solar or wind with no reliable backups. The design Achilles Heel of solar or wind is a backup plant is needed on standby to cover for the times when solar and wind don't work. And it has to take 100% of the power demand ANYWAY! And that plant has to be fossil or nuclear so that it WILL work when you NEED it to work. Activists are literally the most scientifically ignorant people I've ever met. Have any of you taken college chemistry, physics, calculus, thermodynamics? When I was young, there were few activists, and the world was a smarter, more intelligent place with debate and consideration of opposing points of view. But you can't debate ignorance. I'm pulling for the next asteroid to put the world out of our woke misery.

[@schwig44]

@@bobhabib7662 Power companies literally have to build TWO plants now Not necessarily. It's not like you need a reactor built for every solar panel sold. One baseline system can cover multiple customers and still benefit from reduced demand during daylight hours. The whole point is to reduce the amount of fuel burned, right? Why not do that during the day if we can? Or are you actually arguing for higher operating costs via fuel consumed to power areas in daylight? And that doesn't even get into the storage options like pumped hydro and flywheel storage, even straight up compressed air or a weight on rope.

[@Evanthebat15]

Rofl that last bit of the segment was a masterpiece, great pic! Still can't believe there's someone actually called "Twinkle" and "Chip" where's "Ahoy?"

[@NA12495]

Food for thought. Where I grew up, the power company was a co-op, heck so was the phone company....very reasonable prices. When I moved to Europe the utilities were paid every 3 months. Moved back to the states, my unities are due ever month. One month of utilities in the states cost the same as 3 months in Europe.

[@philgiglio7922]

That's an amazing statistic, if true. Brits pay a tax for every broadcast reciever they own, European gas prices put ours to shame ..Europe's paid that, and more for decades. and that sums up my knowledge of the continent as far as living costs are.

[@NA12495]

@@philgiglio7922 they pay for fuel by the letter, and yes it is over $6 a gallon. Though a friend's VW car got about 70 miles to a gallon of diesel. Sure TV tax, can't remember how much it was. Fells like we were out more, one TV was enough for us. Went to the movies a lot more. $30 a month and watch what ever movies you wanted at the theater. Remember my co-worker being annoyed because he had to pay $6 (equivalent) for his copay on medication. "It should be free, I have never had to pay". Sure they may pay more in taxes, but some things are taken care of.

@@NA12495 the official mesure for liquid volumes is the litre tho, it's like pointing that you mesure weight in pounds. Gas is also quite expensive there because of taxes, like VAT and other taxes.

[@NA12495]

@ yes, having lived in 3 countries other than the US, I understand that. Also understand that a major reason utilities were 1/3 the cost because homes were built different. Better windows and door that were updated more often. The heating units were better. Electrical panels were kinda garbage, everything on a few circuits.

[@buttonsf3293]

co-ops make a huge difference! I used to pay almost $100mo in the city for water/sewer 20yrs ago, now pay a co-op $12mo.

[@Fliptheonly]

I'm working in the utilities industry in Germany and we have broken up these monopolies back in the late 90's. We used to have 4 big companies basically being an oligopol, owning the infrastructure and supplying customers. The german solution was to break these companies apart, forcing them to split their business roles into seperate entities that can not share information/employees, etc. The major roles are the supplier, the company selling utlities to consumers, and the distribution companies, managing the actual infrastructure and acting as a data center that would - indescriminately - give any supplier access to relevant information about consumption/etc. Our energy prices might be through the roof, but that has entirely different reasons (renewables, no more nuclear). This ruling was very successful, you can be supplied by a hundred or so different companies, no matter where in germany you live, and they do have to compete with one another, as shey should.

[@michelbraun4858]

well germany had to do it to be able to take part in Nord Pool. Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway and Lithuania have similar system.

[@sw_1776]

What John Oliver isn't telling everyone is the oligarchy overlord Joe Biden who is trying to pass all this green energy has himself last year bought over $900,000 worth of private jets. How much emissions does a jet plane emit into the atmosphere and they tell people you should stop driving your gas car.

[@mondasseh87]

That's technically what supposed to happen in the US with companies that have monopolies, but politicians from all sides are bought by these companies, and no one actually cares about the people.

[@alistairlee7604]

I wish Germany get rid of its nuclear power phobia earlier.

[@salocin9695]

And by the way, the distribution companies here in germany are allowed to make profits based on the time the customers have no electricity. More hours without electricity = less profit the grid operator is allowed to make. Great motivation for the grid operator (which has to be a monopoly) to strengthen the grid.

[@dridadbunkerphd6523]

I live in San Diego. The local monopoly, SDG&E, charges twice the national average for E-. Something I discovered when trying to verify the annual cost power rating of a freezer I wanted to buy. When I had a small business in the area, they raised our electricity rates from May to Oct by 60% (that is NOT a typo) on the grounds that "summer demands" meant they needed to impose these rates during that time. I saw businesses all around mine go out of business from one week to the next. Meanwhile, they are trying to charge consumers for the clean up of the leaking (which they hid from the public), now-defunct nuke plant at San Onofre (for which they received taxpayer subsidies to build), and our CA so-called "Public" Utilities commission are letting them get away with it. And, I remember the ENRON scandal where energy brokers said, "F**K grandma in California, we're getting rich."

[@AP-gb3eh]

Criminal

[@huajiluhai]

60%!!!! What?!!!!!! That’s so bullshit….it’s not like they have any power quota restrictions and need you guys to bid on it. It’s for profit company…:you can provide more power if consumers use more in the summer. Also that hike is crazy, if not criminal! I am not from the US, but looks like there’s no good local utility company there, or at least not in California. I live in Hong Kong and here it is also run by a monopoly. But the price adjustment typically reflect the changes of cost structure behind, and every year the government will review their pricing to approve for any adjustment. In the past couple years, the government subsidies the utility bill as part of social welfare, the allowance is hkd200 about usd 25per person per mth, and that’s generally enough to cover the monthly bill. I don’t see why the federal or state government can’t step in with similar regulations. Unlike the opioid crisis, I think the solution for this problem is pretty obvious.

[@daethalion1725]

@@huajiluhai It isn't even based on the idea that people use more power on average during the summer for climate control. SDG&E has a three-tiered system of fees for power that gets triggered based on how many kWh you use per month. In summer the tier 1 rates are wiped out and everyone is bumped up to tier 2, regardless of how much actual power they're consuming. It's a completely blatant cash grab they run every year.

[@HNO5683]

I live in Northern California and have PGE. They cut off power 3 times last summer durning a heat wave to reduce fire risk because they don’t maintain their power lines… my in laws who live 5 minutes away and have a different company never lost power and consistently pay half of what we do for utilities.

[@TheSoleman221]

I love how everyone watching was just waiting for the “decades of grinding” joke 😂 like we all knew it was coming

[@technopoptart]

as did gramgram

[@diddeldodo]

watching your show continously makes me wonder: how on earth are the US still alive and working? There are so many issues with your political system and big companies meddling with its people in office, it is a miracle you still are a global super power

[@HannahZiad]

I think it’s a hoax that Hollywood is portraying the us as a powerful and fit running nation So it is brain washing the whole world to think of it as well

[@ngrovotny]

Don't worry. It shouldn't be much longer before we're a failed state, especially if the know-nothings sweep back into control over Congress.

[@rh8884]

Totally understand. I will say, when watching these types of shows, it's good to remember that they're only covering systemic problems and things that could be better, not things that are actually working well or even better compared to other places.

[@diddeldodo]

@@rh8884 fair enough, thats right. Thx for the perspective

[@andreaguy9534]

You know how in "Good Omens" Crowley just drives through that inferno and his car somehow keeps running because he refuses to believe that his car is anything but functional. My country is the car and Crowley is the people in it

[@davyboy555]

Ah utilities, the boring topic I didn’t know I needed to know more about. I love this show

[@ryanricks3002]

Right John tricks you into liking a meal you hate

[@jonbongjovi1869]

he didn't scratch the surface about how utterly corrupt this Super-Mafia is.

[@user-dg4se3cz4o]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/jpyulo1teqalldE Finally it's here

[@galadriel481]

The more l watch this show, the more l appreciate my ancestors being sent to Australia instead of America

[@austinm5630]

The sad part is this is basically every major industry now. We built an economic system that ONLY functions when competition is present and then they all consolidated into monopolies and duopolies, and the regulators, especially the FTC, were asleep at the wheel the whole time. Need electricity? Monopoly. Need internet service? Two choices tops and one is DSL, which is a joke in 2022. Need gasoline? A cabal that sets the price dictates that (OPEC) so it's functionally a monopoly too. What about food? Well there's 2 major chicken providers, 3 major pork providers, etc., and they all collude on the price, whether they'll ever admit it or not. Even vegetables, you basically grow whatever Monsanto gives you, or your crop gets wiped out by the pesticides your neighbor is putting on his Monsanto-engineered seeds. EDIT: And don't even get me started on the GOVERNMENT-BACKED FOURTEEN YEAR MONOPOLIES the drug companies get on every single product, most of the R&D for which is funded by OUR taxpayer money! It's the same story with different characters in every singe industry. Meanwhile the only two big monopolies the FTC has broken up in the last 50 years? Bell and Microsoft. Bell basically transformed from a monopoly to a duopoly with price fixing, so nothing changed there, and Microsoft has actually benefited from being broken up, as it forced the to do what companies are supposed to do when competition actually exists - innovate. And then you have republicans who say we have too much regulation? What regulation? The only state with any regulations is California, and they're all stupid, petty things like a 6-year approval process for solar power. If you want power, internet, gas or groceries, you're stuck with the same lack-of-choice in Cali as everywhere else. Hey guys, here's an idea: if you like the free market so much, why don't we actually try it, because a free market without competition ISN'T A FREE MARKET, you flaming idiots!

[@elizabethbennet4791]

theyre lying all the time

[@steventodd787]

A free market inevitably leads to monopolies. If the government does not regulate companies and prevent monopolies, then companies will just buy their competition and jack up rates. A free market simply and inevitably leads to monopolies and duopolies.

[@elizabethbennet4791]

@@steventodd787 yes this is why capitalism is evil and foolish and why Marx predicted its downfall in a larger cycle of patterns

[@danarzechula3769]

Not asleep at the wheel on the take

[@thecomfortinthesound]

Completely agree; people who tout the system call themselves capitalists, but this isn’t capitalism! What they’re really in favor of is the elitist oligarchy that the concentration of wealth maintains.

[@notman05]

Back in the mid 90s I had a college professor open my eyes to this. Simple question, "why do electric companies need to advertise?" It's not like you have other options. Hell, in my area, they even sponsored a concert venue. It all ties to profits, and the relation to how much they spend. It's been going on a long Tim's, and no one seems willing to change it

[@techguy651]

My municipally owned public utility was allowed to raise rates after they paid a cryptographic ransomware attack (probably from North Korea) that they should have had a plan to recover from. Ironically, the CEO made enough in a bonus to put enough solar panels on his property to participate in "net metering".

[@kenster8270]

To be fair though, the fact that an elderly person was rationing pills in order to make ends meet is a separate issue. Namely the issue of the wealthiest country on earth refusing to provide healthcare for all of its citizens, resulting in massive medical debts, unnecessary health complications, and preventable/premature deaths. I think that the main issue with electricity/heating bills being unrealistically high is the lack of anti-trust regulation of the market. This creates monopolies that deprive consumers of a competitive, market-driven option of which provider to choose. Other unregulated markets in the US suffer from the same ailment. I remember watching a documentary once about the meat industry being dominated by one or two gigantic corporations/conglomerates that are squeezing smaller farmers/ranchers out of business.

[@WintrBorn]

Yes, but it would have been less of an issue if the poor lady didn’t have Duke. Duke raised rates right after causing an environmental disaster here, totally not because of the fines they incurred. Because that was denied by the state. But of course costs going up, well, that’s a legit reason.

[@ThePinkBinks]

It’s all tightly interconnected otherwise I’d agree. We know the heads of both problems scratch each other’s backs.

[@CantankerousDave]

We’re the world’s wealthiest third world country.

[@StealURFace]

We’re a corporate oligarchy parading as a democracy. We think we elect our representatives but corporate “donations” fund their campaigns and the “representatives” only truly represent the people who finance their campaigns to which they are beholden.

[@roselily20062]

19:25 I love the preemptive laughing from the crowd because they know he’s gonna say something funny about the phrase “decades of grinding”.

[@timhamilton5699]

I have often wondered: what if every home built over the past decade had a solar array on the roof? I'd bet we wouldn't be having so many power grid infrastructure issues.

[@nonyabizness.original]

this comment brought to you by solar power. my house is tiny and has wheels and solar. i haven't seen an electric bill- or gas, or water, or sewage, or trash, or recycle, or cable, or house insurance, or rent or mortgage, for 7 years. no service failures, no jacked up bill increases, no stress, no strain, just life as simple, peaceful, beautiful as it should be.

[@benjaminmadrigalperez9010]

@@nonyabizness.original there are also problems there. John made a piece on that a few year back. Básically companies overcharge People for the space and can steal your homes.

[@eponymousIme]

@@nonyabizness.original How many children and animals share that tiny house with you? How many group celebrations and holiday dinners do you host there?

[@eponymousIme]

I have often wondered (and still do, at least once a month....) what if our government paid for solar panels on every building in our country instead of subsidizing fossil fuels and making us energy-dependent on foreign sources?

[@kisslab]

@@eponymousIme If I remember correctly they kinda do. But not for solar panels on every building. Instead they went for the ridicules useless solar roadways ;)

[@anneg.weaver7749]

Camp Fire survivor here. Thank you for your focus on utilities and PG&E. They are criminals I have to keep getting screwed by. Currently, I'm awaiting approval, yes, approval of my solar panel installation from PG&E.

[@haileybalmer9722]

I browse cemeteries for names, and my all time favorite is Twinkle Endersen. It immediately evoked so many questions. Did someone bury their 56 year old cat in this mausoleum? Did someone actually name their baby Twinkle? Did the person named Twinkle somehow not realize they could change their name? By the way, my second favorite name I've found was Louisa Lasagna. She was buried next to her husband, so you know she chose that name. Either that was a woman in love, or a woman with an enviable sense of humor.

[@Citizenvelo]

Thank you for actually pointing out that the solution is public ownership

[@Tiandria]

I’m so glad John covered this topic. I pushed back on some of BGE’s policies surrounding PII. I was basically expressing that they were doing a poor job at protecting PII. The response I got back from the company was “We’ve been doing it like this for years and Public Service Commission approved it.” I tried reporting their practice to the Attorney General and they did nothing but forward it to the Public Service Commission who forwarded back to BGE. *sigh* None of these entities are working in the best interest of the people and it’s truly sad.

[@mcrked]

I used to sell solar and remember one of my first big sales in which this lovely older couple were looking for a ridiculous amount of panels in their backyard. The reason? Their house was in the Paradise fire and they will forever despise PG&E for burning down their dream home in which their children spent most of their childhood.

[@StormTheSquid]

Honestly, at this point I think we need to start trying companies as individuals. If a company does something that would get an individual person sent to prison, shut it down and send those in charge of the decision to do that to prison. Then fix the prison system so it actually rehabilitates criminals instead of just punishing them out of spite.

[@vincentmuyo]

@@LydiaSalem No no, you could just imprison the decisionmakers and shareholders and sell the rest of the company. Eminent domain is a thing, right?

[@StormTheSquid]

@@vincentmuyo exactly. Sell/split up the company, that way regular people keep their jobs, and greedy sleazeballs go to prison for criminal corporate misconduct.

[@obits3]

@@vincentmuyo Did you seriously just suggest imprisonment for shareholders of public companies? WTF? Do you have any idea how disconnected they tend to be from their investments? Heck, a lot of shareholders are retirement funds.

[@mtn1793]

Golf therapy?

[@StormTheSquid]

@@obits3 well the CEOs always say they're "beholden to the shareholders" so clearly they aren't that disconnected. It'll also make people think twice before investing in criminal organizations masquerading as legitimate companies just for the sake of greed.

[@devinclark8689]

The aspiring comedian was a nice hidden touch at the end. Ive always loved you. Ever since the daily show and i think a comedy 'special'. Platonically of course. I just felt i needed to add that part as this is about the tenth time i've said how much i love you and this show. Haha

[@claudettehernandez3402]

Reddy Kilowatt was a part of my childhood. My father is retired lineman from the 60’s-90’s. We learned the power of electricity from Reddy. So many close calls for my father, close friends dying during power outages. Now you need to be an electrical engineer back then you needed to be wary and consistent with your own safety.

[@andysnerdcorner6226]

I work at a resort where large companies occasionally have corporate retreats, and I would work for 10 days straight just to see PG&E come to the property and experience a blackout they couldn't fix. The poetic justice of it would be immeasurable.

[@eponymousIme]

😉

[@boblangill6209]

John Oliver overlooked one of the weirdest utility stories: Gov DeSantis vetoed a bill that Florida Power pushed through the legislature that would have drastically increased the cost for people who installed solar panels. Weird, DeSantis doing something that would actually benefit people.

[@healinggrounds19]

Desantis isn't for the common people. He's for his big donors. He learned from trumpy.

[@marisolaquino719]

He realized that it was good for all Floridians and has never did that again.

[@Celebriel82]

@@marisolaquino719 Nah, FPL (Florida Power and Light) didn't bribe him enough to sign it.

[@saaltdjunque4545]

He is a Republican. That is what they do. They (MOST) actually try to benefit EVERYONE instead of focusing on wedge special interests that divide the country.... I wonder why?

[@RocLobo358]

Fpl is losing this but they'll figure out a way to screw Floridians

[@obsidiana07]

On my reservation my tribe is looking into starting it's own electric company and the company we use was desperately trying to block it because they would lose thousands of customers.

[@slowbro1337]

After the winter freeze in Texas my electric bill went from 112$ to 300$ a month for a year because it coincided with a lock in date and the way my plan was set up. I used only 4 hours of electricity for the entire time as I was camping outside durring the freeze I turned power in my house on for 4 hrs when it was actually avaliable so a family member could use their Cpap machine and that was it. Worst thing was Abbot could have said no to the energy companies and have them forgive/accept the failure and the cost the companies put on the public for their failure. Instead Abbot he took 50k from the energy lobby after the storm.Shortly after the cost along with repairs ended up being on the tax payers and not the companies. A kid died in my town here in Texas during the storm, Governor Abbot made a profit from a failure cause by his and his party's deregulations on the energy industry. Screw you Abbot and F u Entergy yall evil.

[@grmpEqweer]

I'm voting Not Abbott. I'm not 100% about Beto, but Abbott has to go.

[@dalpz205]

Oh energy companies donated around 9 million to political campaigns. 4.6 mil was to Abbott after he wrote the bill requiring upgrades. There are so many loopholes companies can opt out and keep delaying among others. Also companies received a bankruptcy bail-out from Texas, use of taxpayer funds to upgrade PLUS we all have an increased bill for the next 25 years to pay for upgrades. Then he had to get the whole country to focus on the Texas border "crisis" immediately after as a distraction. Smh

[@autohmae]

The US really needs to get money out of politicos, maybe you'd get better politicians.

[@takkieterror5152]

Lol, Texas gets what it deserves. Keep voting red and get stuck with idiots in charge who don't gives a shit about you. GL with party over politics Texas👻

[@nodensbertilak6855]

Republicans are dirty

[@andrefricke9998]

Every week John and his team are able to come up with a show about another aspect of the USA that is completely f-ed up. Good job, everyone.

[@Thim22Z7]

I mean, it seems they have enough stuff to pick XD It just keeps on coming and keeps on coming

[@divisiona3974]

Yeah, it’s almost unbelievable. Watching John, I’ve gotten a feeling, that the US is mostly populated by uneducated peasants. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but it’s just not what I expected. Live and learn, I guess?! Makes you wonder if the US is actually capable of doing the things it says it will!? Before I’d say, most likely. Now? probably not...

[@SwiftySanders]

We live in a ____hole country. 🤦🏾‍♂️

[@rlud304]

I call it “This Week in How The US sucks at Everything”