[chimeracoder]

> All consumer level electricity supply is classified as a utility in the U.S.. Would you say that electricity transmission and generation have "stagnated"?

That's a pretty bad comparison, though, because the transmission of electricity is as commoditized as possible (given that the electricity gets somewhere, the only thing the consumer cares about is price - there's no such thing as "fast" electricity). So what does "stagnation" on energy transmission even mean? There's no innovation - at least, not that the end consumer would ever know or care about - which is the textbook characteristic of a fungible commodity.

The production is not fungible (see: clean energy production vs. dirty), but that's the part that's also somewhat competitive. For example, in New York City, Con Edison has a monopoly on the infrastructure[0], but you can purchase your electricity either though Con Edison or through an ESCO, which can include clean energy providers.

As a general trend, municipalities which decouple the generation from the transmission and allow competition between companies that generate electricity do tend to have more clean-energy options than those which monopolize both the transmission and the generation.

[0] A few parts are serviced by another provider instead of Con Edison, but basically any given household is serviced by only one power company

[Retra]

The innovation is to find cheaper and more efficient ways to generate and deliver electricity to consumers. Both decreasing costs to customers and environmental impact, as well as increasing profit margins for the company.

[chimeracoder]

> The innovation is to find cheaper and more efficient ways to generate and deliver electricity to consumers.

You're repeating the definition of a commodity, which was exactly what I addressed in my first paragraph.

> Both decreasing costs to customers and environmental impact, as well as increasing profit margins for the company.

"Decreasing cost and increasing profit margins" again is part and parcel of commoditization. The environmental impact is what I addressed in the rest of my comment.

Again, the comparison is bad because the only part of the electric industry which is not fully commoditized and which has the potential for non-commodity innovation is the part that is already competitive and much less regulated.

Broadband Internet, on the other hand, is not at all commoditized. There are at least four different things that consumers can care about besides cost per unit, so comparing it to a commodity utility is a bad comparison.