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by aardvarkious 6264 days ago
With utilities, you pay based on how much you use, not on how difficult it is to get them to you. So, for example, if you live on a farm in the middle of nowhere, it is more expensive to give you power than if you live in the city (you need dedicated infrastructure to get the power to you, and chances are you are further away from the power plant which means more power gets lost in transmission). Yet you pay the same per kw/h as if you lived in the city. Where you start paying more is if you use more power. (at least, this is the case where I live. Sorry if it is different in the US)

Postage works exactly the same way. No matter how expensive it is to get a package to you, you pay a fixed rate for it. However, you also pay proportional to the cost you impose on the system is that you pay per package.
2 comments
anamax 6264 days ago
> With utilities, you pay based on how much you use, not on how difficult it is to get them to you.

Actually, you do pay for untilities based on how expensive it is to get to you. The local power folks won't run a line to whereever you happen to be "for free". They'll charge you, the developer, someone. If you're a long way from "enough" capacity, the cost can be significant.

That's why some folks aren't on the untilities grid.

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colins_pride 6264 days ago
Rates vary - substantially - by reigion depending on sources of power and transmission costs. If you live in an area with hydroelectric power, you pay much lower rates, for example. If you live a rural area, you have to pay for the connections.

Perhaps utilities were a bad choice of example on my part because of this usage confusion.

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