In her post about BC Hydro’s new smart meters program, Carly criticizes BC Hydro for not taking into account consumer preference, and are abusing their monopolistic crown corporation power. She states that even though the Smart Meters would’ve been introduced despite consumer outcry, BC Hydro should have dealt with concerns more delicately and empathetically, so to not upset customers.
This brings up a good argument against crown corporations. They have no competition, and can therefore do practically whatever they want. It doesn’t matter if BC Hydro’s customers aren’t happy with them, because they will continue to use their services as there is no alternative. Therefore, speaking from a business perspective in BC Hydro, why would they spend money to delicately deal with customers they have no chance of losing? This is why crown corporations can be bureaucratic, because there is no one to keep them in check other than the law. So from BC Hydro’s perspective, if British Columbians are dissatisfied with them, who cares? Short of moving or stopping their use of electricity, consumers are pretty much stuck with them.
Link to her original post here.