After discussing this week’s biggest national and international news, which included Eurovision, the results of the recent election in the Philippines, and the Alabama bill that will negatively impact trans rights in the State, John Oliver moved on to talk about the main topic of the latest Last Week Tonight episode: utilities. Specifically how electric utility companies abuse the immense power that they have, and how they have created some of the weirdest mascots in history, like Reddy Kilowatt – or a “hell creature” as Oliver dubs it.
When we think about our local utility company it’s only because they are “charging exorbitant rates for a basic human necessity” or because it got involved in some sort of scandal. But, as the late-night show host explains, the unethical ways in which these companies operate can sometimes even result in fatal consequences, as is the example of Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) which is at the root cause of the devastating 2018 California wildfires. Backing up the argument with evidence, Oliver makes clear that PG&E, and other companies like it, deserved and would be in prison if they were a person. But as things are, powerful corporations cannot be imprisoned.
These kinds of problems stem from the “incredible amount of power” utilities have been given, without facing any real consequential repercussions for any of the scandals they are involved in. For a start, as the comedian and host explains, oftentimes we don’t have a choice with regard to which company provides our electricity. Local utilities are often “natural monopolies” that remain unchallenged.
Another factor that contributes to utilities abusing their power is that they are incentivized to create projects, like power plants, not in order to help people, but for the sole sake of profit. Essentially, they want to build more plants, so they can make more money. This makes it so that utility companies see solar panels as a threat to the anti-competitive structure they operate in. “Who wants competition?” Oliver rhetorically asks, to drive home the point that these companies are naturally inclined to attempt to crush any alternative forms of energy. The truth is, there are multiple examples “of utilities getting in the way of people using solar energy”.
Unfortunately, Public utility commissions, which are supposed to combat utilities’ abuses of power, are outmatched by the companies they are supposed to regulate. This episode perfectly illustrates everything that is wrong with the way in which utilities function, and how they are not given strong enough incentives to be better. Utilities should focus more on maintaining their infrastructures rather than building new ones, so horrible disasters like the California wildfires needn’t happen again. The customer should be prioritized over profit, as electricity is a basic human right we all should be able to afford.
To end the episode on a “lighter” note, Oliver gets electrocuted by the revived mascot Reddy Kilowatt, more appropriately referred to as “a murderous hell demon”. Watch the segment here:
Read Next
About The Author
