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Anil Rajvanshi

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What should be the real cost of electricity?

Electricity and its continuous supply provides a very high quality of life. In fact Human development index is directly related to electricity usage. Yet for majority of people in rural areas of the developing world electricity is not available. Hence their quality of life is very poor.

At the same time it is wasted in developed world where it is used indiscriminately since it is very cheap. Thus all the lights, computers and other gadgets are mostly on or even when they are in standby mode, consume huge amount of electricity.

Since electricity has become an accepted part of life just as food is, should it not be priced accordingly so that its cost/month should be similar to what we spend on food?

This high cost of electricity will make us use it frugally and will have a tremendous impact on the world environment besides allowing equitable distribution to rural poor.

Topics: electricity
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    Filipe Gazzinelli L. F. Werneck

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    Apr 23 2012: Anil, we might see the costs of electricity raising in the next few years, because many energy providers are going green, and some technologies are a bit more expensive than oil/coal, but we are already seeing many countries allowing people to self-generate their electricity, through PV. And this, is the future, people will begin to generate their own energy, and this even for people in rural areas, and through cooperatives for poor people.

    Only big companies and industries may buy energy from providers, and it can cause a big drop on energy costs.

    We shall only take care to use our natural resources with responsibility , and never think we could solve the problem of sustainability definitively
    Thanks, Filipe!

  • Harvey Von Gunderman III

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    Apr 22 2012: I feel that in the world we must become to survive, every human being will be provided essential living resources for free, and with breakthroughs in energy and fual production like LFTR (Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactors) and high capacity energy storage like liquid slat batteries this is becoming increasingly possible. It will destroy the buyer seller aspect of capitalistic business interactions, but shouldn't every human being be allowed to live an equally prosperous life? businesses on the other hand, not being something that has the rights of a living thing would pay its power bill, which would still be low if we are providing that much energy. Now I do understand that this is a very ideological, but as I stated at the beginning, the world we must become to survive. I do feel the same as far as now goes as well. Essentials to equally prosperous living shouldn't be enslaving the masses, It should be liberating them, allowing them to use their money for being happy and interacting, how a healthy economy would work.
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    pat gilbert 50+

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    Apr 22 2012: The price of electricity should be whatever someone is willing to pay for it. It is an transaction between the buyer and the seller and no one else should be involved.

    If the price becomes to high the buyer will find another way to generate electricity.

    The ONLY time this is a problem is when someone like a government decides what price should be. Which of course they do not and beyond ignorant on what the price should be.
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    Kevin Tinholt

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    Apr 22 2012: The combined cost of electricity and resources should be equal to the money that is needed to create a sustainable planet where all its inhabitants can live in prosperity.

    Though if you think it through such a feat will only be possible if we start discriminating against certain people, those in the west have to pay the biggest share and those in the developing countries have to pay a smaller price.

    So you see the problem.
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