Why is my Electric Company Using Uber-Style Surge Pricing?
This is capitalist "innovation."
Good news, everyone! My electric provider, Xcel Energy, has found a way for me to save money while protecting the planet. All I have to do is not use electricity between 1 p.m. and 7 p.m., the daily six-hour window in which they’ll charge me more. Awesome.
As the (unlisted) YouTube video below explains, Xcel created this “Time of Use” policy to “help the environment.”
Framing a pricing increase as a chance for me to “save money” is standard marketing jargon. But the attempt to posit this as an environmental concern is straight up gaslighting.
My personal grievances aside, this is a perfect illustration of the hollow promise of capitalist “innovation.” As capitalist theory goes, if society take a laissez faire approach and lets capitalists accrue massive profits, exploit workers, and use their capital to throttle political democracy, then the working class will reap the benefits of innovation — better consumer products and an overall higher quality of life. This thought process was valid in the earlier stages of human development, but as my electric bill proves, its a fantasy in 2024.
Capitalist companies do innovate, but not how we’ve been told. They’re not improving our lives, but finding new ways to rip us off. In Xcel’s case, there’s no way for them to “innovate” a cutting-edge product that increases electricity sales. The electrical grid is set, and no one is building any cities anytime soon. But Xcel still needs to show stockholders profits are going up, up, up (XEL is a publicly-traded member of the S&P 500 that pays dividends). So, when some energy executive had to pay Uber surge pricing because one-too-many DUIs cost him his license, he though, “Hey, my energy company could do that!” And he was right.
Like most gargantuan corporations, Xcel Energy is a government-protected monopoly. I live in an apartment building, which limits me to the “choice” between paying Xcel’s surge pricing or reverting to a 19th-century, pre-electricity lifestyle. Hardly a decision. Denver has floated the idea of transitioning to an alternative source of green energy, but even that would force Denverites to submit to Xcel’s economic tyranny.1 While we could buy non-Xcel electricity, as the company owns the power lines that deliver energy to our homes, we’re still forced to pay them.
A few years ago, Cambridge, Massachusetts implemented a similar energy-choice program. Residents decided between buying electricity from the local electric company, Eversource, or opting into an environmentally-focused, public option. However, like Xcel in Colorado, Eversource owns the electric grid in Cambridge, meaning Cantabrigians cannot escape the state-enshrined capitalist profiteering.
Outside of the energy sector, capitalist and their apologist point to the great revolutions in consumer technology as proof this is The Best System. In actuality, when we examine the production behind futuristic tech, it largely returns to public research and government funding. As I wrote in the below article, Elon Musk’s empire of electric vehicles, space contractors, and PayPal all come from government subsidies and inventions. Even the iPhone is a conglomeration of public inventions that works because the U.S. government lets it use GPS, a government satellite network.
The Capitalist is Useless.
The longer society believes the lie that the benefits of capitalism will trickle down to the masses, the longer we’ll be exploited, cheated, and immiserated. Energy companies will surge-price electricity, Uber will undercut public transportation efforts, and medical companies will modify inhaler caps to preserve drug patents. (Oh wait, they’re already doing that.)
Instead of continuing to let spoiled corporate robbers who have never done a day’s work in their lives lecture us about how fortunate we are to receive their "innovative” scraps, we should look towards true innovation: finding ways to transition to green energy and reduce costs for consumers. That starts with nationalizing Xcel and every other energy company and turning them into public utilities.
That’s actual innovation. Surge pricing electricity during winter is simply extortion.
Further Reading
I explored this topic further in Red Pepper’s Fall Issue. It’s a concise explanation of how Uber, AirBnB, and other tech companies hide behind the innovation defense to steal your money. Read it, here — Key Words: Innovation
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https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/lawmakers-bill-colorado-power-grid-electricity-demand-reliability-concerns/
I live in TN and one of the few things we've got right here is the TVA. It's far from perfect, but all our electricity is generated by a publicly owned organization. In addition, there are multiple member owned co-ops that provide the local utilities. My electricity provider is member owned. So it's not for profit, members actually get to vote on the board, and the organization is focused on serving the members. TN isn't the only place with electric co-ops, and not every utility here is one, but there are multiple in the state. It keeps electricity costs as low as they can because they're focused on serving the members instead of providing dividends to a bunch of rich leeches.
I actually work for a different electrical co-op and it is a fantastic place to work. We have excellent benefits and many of the co-ops around the country still have pension plans, in addition to a 401k. Because it's about the members and having excellent employees who are free to do their jobs, not feeding a bottom line so a rich leech can have a few more millions. When they do employee appreciation activities, I believe they actually mean it. Work is work of course and nothing is perfect, but I wish every job was like this.
I also bank at a credit union, and those are member owned. I think it should be federal law that all utilities and banking should be member owned co-ops/credit unions. It would be FAR better for the consumer. But the rich will fight tooth and nail to keep that from happening. It's why they keep trying to privatize every government service. There's money there that they can steal and their greedy asses want it, despite already having more money than god. Greedy leeches, one and all.
(And since I mentioned my employer, just in case, all my opinions are my own and are not those of my employer. I am a leftist and I speak for myself alone. I am not speaking on behalf of my employer. They wouldn't sue me or anything, but I wouldn't want them to get bad press in some insane world where someone connected this to me IRL. I actually like my employer and wouldn't want them dragged into anything about my personal activities.)
Lol I have to use PG&E and *Absolutely Love* paying for their mistakes. Old gas line blows up and they have to update infrastructure? Increase. Causing one of the most expensive and harmful fires in CA history? Increase. I figured out recently that they charge me $2.38 if I turn on my stove for like 2 minutes (could also be the hot water heater). That cup of coffee I made would have been cheaper at 🌟 💵. I don't say much stuff is morally wrong, but this feels like it is! I'm forced to use a service that sets its own pricing so that it can still profit even though they have caused so much harm. Capitalist love to use the free market idea but this certainly is not free