Responsible Power Marketing in an Increasingly Competitive Era

Abstract

If you [electric utilities] will bring your price down to a point where you can compel the manufacturer to shut down his private plant because he will save money by doing so; if you can compel the street railway to shut down its generating plant; if you can compel the city waterworks, whether privately or publicly owned, to shut down its power plant because of the price you quote-then you will begin to realize the possibilities of this business, and these possibilities may exceed your wildest dreams. Samuel Insull, 1910 Samuel Insull's career ended in financial ruin, but echoes of his rallying cry still resound in utility boardrooms throughout North America. The energy landscape is marked by surpluses of electrical generating capacity and growing competition for power sales. Marketing strategy has become one of the industry's paramount concerns.