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Why does my electric company need to advertise?

May 3, 2024
Sometimes it's for public service announcements, sometimes it's for public relations after a scandal. Either way, some states are cracking down.

Utilities' emergency costs spark surge in ratepayer-funded recovery bonds

Feb 6, 2023
To pay off expenses caused by storms or power plant retirements, utilities are increasingly turning to something called securitization.

Cash-strapped cities consider turning crumbling utilities over to the private sector

Oct 20, 2022
Infrastructure repairs are usually left up to local governments, but smaller cities can’t always afford these repairs.
Above, a water treatment plant on Aug. 31, in Jackson, Mississippi. In places like Jackson and Duquesne, Pennsylvania, crumbling infrastructure has led to unclean drinking water.
Brad Vest/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

In fire-prone California, experts push utilities to monitor the riskiest equipment on the grid

Jan 6, 2022
Power lines and equipment have sparked devastating blazes. Now companies are asked to take stock of their aging infrastructure.
Utilities have been making upgrades to their systems. Above, workers re-anchor a pole that suspends power lines outside Acton, California.
Lily Jamali/Marketplace

Why don't American cities have more public bathrooms?

Dec 1, 2021
Writer Elizabeth Yuko explains why Americans use toilets in private businesses instead of those maintained by the government.
"9/11 really was the final nail in the coffin for a lot of the remaining public restrooms and a lot have been closed since," says Elizabeth Yuko, a contributing writer for Bloomberg CityLab.
Getty Images

The pandemic slowed global efforts to expand access to electricity

Sep 29, 2021
According to a new IEA report, the pandemic stalled progress the most in sub-Saharan Africa.
A report shows that the pandemic hindered efforts to establish access to electricity around the globe, as governments diverted resources to fighting COVID-19.
Christopher Furlong/Getty Images