On Thu, 7 Jun 2012 01:52:46 +0100, "Arfa Daily"
wrote:

How is electricity sold to the consumer in the U.S. ? Presumably it is by
the 'unit' of 1 kWh the same as here in the UK, but is the price constant
across the day, or is there an equivalent of the night-time economy period
that we have in the UK, where the per unit cost is significantly lower for
seven hours ? And is the pricing structure 'simple' like it used to be here,
or a minefield of different tariffs that you can choose from, that make it
so complicated that you have to go onto a price comparison site to try to
get the best deal, and even then can't be sure that you've got it right ?
And who do you buy it from ? Do you have a national supplier, or a state
supplier, or a local supplier or all of those ? Is it a massive mire of
'competition' between suppliers like it is here now ? I say 'competition' in
inverted commas, because in reality, it's actually nothing of the sort for
the most part. Do you also have 'combined' tariff suppliers who will supply
your gas as well as electricity, to further muddy the waters ? What is your
typical price now for a unit of daytime electricity ?

Just interested, as it's so ridiculously expensive and top heavy here now,
and I was wondering whether this has become the norm around the world. Any
of you Aussie boys (or girls) want to chip in with how it's done down there
? Anyone else anywhere ?

Arfa

That depends on where you live.

In Memphis, Tennessee, the city handles water (including sewer), gas,
and electricity.

In other areas, you may have a different supplier for each.

Various pats of the state of Georgia get electricity from Georgia
Power Company, others from a number of smaller companies and
membership co-ops.
Rates for various electricity providers in Georgia are he
http://www.psc.state.ga.us/electric/...identialrs.asp

Natural gas is provided by numerous suppliers. Some have small
service aeas, others serve large numbers of customers.
Priceing charts are he
http://www.psc.state.ga.us/gas/pricecard.asp

Other states typically have some type of public service board or
commission that regulates the utilities in the state. Those
regulating officials usually publish some type of pricing information
about the providers in the state.