[SoCal Pubbie]

So some rich guy, like Old Man Potter in “It’s a Wonderful Life”, guys one for his property up on the hill and charges everyone below in the valley for the juice to run their homes. That way he gets his neighbors to pay for his electricity and makes a profit off theirs.

[NicknamedBob]

"So some rich guy, like Old Man Potter in “It’s a Wonderful Life”, (b)uys one for his property up on the hill and charges everyone below in the valley for the juice to run their homes. That way he gets his neighbors to pay for his electricity and makes a profit off theirs."

That's essentially the system we have now. If the utilities are not protected monopolies, this development would allow George Bailey to get together with his friends to break Potter's monopoly, and bring a little competition to the pricing.