If I wanted to start a power generation company, I, the individual would be powerless (no pun intended). So, what about energy coop's where a group of indivduals builds a power plant for their communities needs? Raising the capital to build a solar farm in the Southwest, for instance requires a lot of collateral of some kind so why not build a coop of homeowners and local businesses who become the principal stakeholders in the venture?

JEA = Jacksonville Electric Authority buys 600 megawatts continuously from a nuclear power plant 150 miles farther North at $60 per megawatt hour. Our own coal fired plant produces 1600 megawatts when operating correctly. JEA sells electricity on various terms to communities near by. Sometimes JEA has several hundred megawatts that none of the regular buyers want, so they offer it to anyone at $20 per megawatt hour. This might be considered dumping, but it does encourage JEA to have a sizable surplus for emergencies, such as a break in the power line to the nuclear power plant. Apparently the decisions are rather poor as 2 minute power failures occur multiple time in some months. One time they sent me 67 volts for more than an hour. Surprisingly some of the CFL = compact floresent lights lit almost full brightness. Please give some more examples, to help us understand the extent of government meddling and possible ways to make the "free" market work better for the customers and the small players in the electricity market.   Neil