The Quiet Unraveling of the Power Grid Monopoly

Will the electric utility distribution monopolies (”discos”) remain financially viable over the longer term? That is the question, and not an idle one.  When the government broke up the Bell Systemm (some of you may remember that formerly ubiquitous entity) in the 1980s, it assumed (as did most investors) that the local exchange (the telephone equivalent of the disco) had an unassailable regulated monopoly. Technology (the internet and cell phones) changed that picture, and today only 30% of the population utilizes local exchange…