The U.S. Electricity Sector: A Century of Systemic Problems
Much of modern economics was already visible to Adam Smith in “The Theory of Moral Sentiments” (1759). One of his most enduring insights was a warning against the confidence that complex systems can be centrally planned.
Nowhere has that confidence been more persistent than in the electricity sector, where layers of policy have long attempted to steer outcomes through planning, mandates, and centralized control. Smith gave this mindset a name: the man of system.
“The man of system…is often so enamoured with the supposed beauty of his own ideal plan of government…. He seems to imagine that he can arrange the different members of a great society with as much ease as the hand arranges the different pieces upon a chess–board.”
Our advocacy for “Consumer Regulated Electricity” (CRE) is about liberating electricity from men and women of system. Doing so will unleash all sorts of new wonders and possibilities.
Here’s a virtual toast to the exciting wonders and possibilities which will reveal themselves in 2026. 🥂
