[tschwimmer]

I have a differing opinion, which is that paying market rates for electricity is not an innovation. It's a differing business model, and it's arguably a regression in terms of convenience and usability.

As a consumer who doesn't work in the power industry, I don't really want to follow the power costs. When I feel cold, I want to turn the heat on. When the dishwasher is full, I want to run it. Having to do an additional mental check every time I want to use electricity sounds annoying and stressful for me.

Is a market based solution better for slowing down climate change? Absolutely. Is that more importance than convince? Yes. However it's not an innovation. It's the consequence of humanity realizing that a relatively common and easy to use source of energy is killing us and we suddenly can't use it.

I don't see floating market rate energy being a meaningful part of the answer to climate change. For every person like you who likes the direct feedback mechanism of market pricing, there will be 10 people who vote against it as a price increase and 100 who just won't care. More and more, it looks like the solution to climate change will be a combination of: cheaper renewables, better battery storage, some carbon intensive power generation to bridge the gap while we get to the previous two, and (in the far far future) fusion energy. Asking consumers to change their habits or reduce their energy consumption is a nonstarter.

[fredophile]

If I had a gas station that offered gas for a fixed price, that was higher than the average gas price in your area, would you agree to use it exclusively? I don't see how the mental load for griddy is fundamentally different from buying gas at a gas station. When I notice prices are low I make the extra effort to top up my tank even if it means a small inconvenience. Do I drive less if gas prices are higher? No but other people might choose to.

[dragonwriter]

> If I had a gas station that offered gas for a fixed price, that was higher than the average gas price in your area, would you agree to use it exclusively? I don’t see how the mental load for griddy is fundamentally different from buying gas at a gas station.

Gas purchases are discrete events that, with extremely minimal planning are capable of being purchased from different outlets each time and, usually, time shifted to deal with per-provider or very short term spikes.

Electricity puchases are continuous and the ability to shift sources or time shift is often significantly less without much more significant planning.

Paying a premium for insurance against extreme variation makes some sense in either case, but a lot more in the latter case.

[thayne]

First of all, the typical person does not fill a car with gas nearly as often as you use electricity. Secondly, if I had to choose to use one of those gas stations exclusively, I might choose the one with a fixed rate, because:

1. It would make it easier to predict how much I would need to pay for gas each month, and simplify budgeting.

2. I don't need to worry about keeping track of the current price of gas

3. Depending on how my driving schedule matches the variance in prices, it may actually be cheaper for me.

[Teever]

Does anywhere else in the world sell electricity like this?

[OJFord]

In the UK 'variable rate' tariffs are common, usually updated monthly.

Octopus' is daily, and also offers an hourly plan 'Agile' with an API.

There is a regulatory cap on the cost of energy, which is a bit convoluted, but Octopus passes it on as a 35p/kWh cap on variable rate plans.

[thayne]

A price that changed monthly might be manageable, but daily or is probably too much for most consumers to keep up with.

[eisa01]

Yes, in Norway the consumer association even recommends it

[ahdinosaur]

local to me is Flick Electric in New Zealand: https://www.flickelectric.co.nz/freestyle