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That sounds horrible, even in Europe deceptive and abusive tactics towards taking people's money are a constant hazard. I can't imagine trying to exist without even what little protection we have.

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Utilities are actually highly regulated in the US. Those rates and fees are publicly available and explained when you get your service, for what it’s worth.

Utilities have to argue for rate increases and get them approved by regulators, so they’re not just dropping fees on top of everything as they please from month to month.

Really nobody should assume that their service is flat rate with a slope down to $0/month if you consume 0kWh. There are fixed and marginal costs in every service like this.

> Utilities have to argue for rate increases and get them approved by regulators, so they’re not just dropping fees on top of everything as they please from month to month.

Do regulators ever reject rate increases that the utilities ask for?

Yes, of course. They give them only half of the 20% annual increase that they requested.

There is a state utility regulator that is supposed to ensure this stuff is fair, and it is disclosed ahead of time. Regardless, for small energy users like me, the fixed costs and extra fees are a huge percentage of the total. Thankfully the total electricity bill is not terribly consequential for my household budget.

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