[rescue] Need Build Help - electricity costs

[Lionel Peterson]

I wouldn't 't think population density would relate to generation costs in
quite the way you mentioned - I think it has to do more with the
nature/technology of power generation plants in a given region (I would have
said states, but electricity freely flows across state lines.).

Lower population densities would impact wiring costs (fewer subscribers per
mile increases per subscriber costs), BUT rural utilities frequently qualify
for subsidies to underwrite some of the cost of delivering service to remote/
less populous areas, helping mitigate the otherwise higher costs.

Also, denser population centers MAY have underground utilities, which while
they are more expensive to initially roll out, tend to have fewer service
delivery outages during their useful life. (Trees don't fall underground, cars
don't hit underground wires, ice doesn't collect on underground wiring, etc.)

Proximity to a major nuke or hydro generation facility probably has the most
to do with the cost if electricity...

Lionel

> On Jun 5, 2014, at 3:56 PM, pakenned-list at pobox.com wrote:
>
> I've not looked at this, but I would wager that the states (generally)
> with the higher density of population have the larger (generally)
electricity rates.  With lower population density, you can pollute a bit more,
and it's easier to route power lines.  With higher population density, _all_
the problems snowball.