As regulated monopolies, utilities have the unique ability to force customers to fund their political activities through monthly bills.
But around the US, utility companies are using their outsize political power to slow down the clean energy transition, and they are probably using your money to do it.
Where I'm from we bought the energy companies decades ago, and kept it public for the most part since then (I think some wind farms are private). I'm not sure how long we can keep it that way in the current political order, but it is definitely worth having.
It makes senso because, the state oil Company in my country is turning into an Energy Company. A surprising endeavor but it makes sense. Oil and petroleum are dated forms of energy, they need to be used less and less.
No, it does not make sense. Renewable energy projects get cheaper financing from banks and in form of green bonds. However oil companies will be treated as fossil fuel companies regardless of the project. So they will spend more on setting up renewables, then if the government set up a proper green energy company and gave them the money from the oil company.
That is why these promises are in most cases nothing but greenwashing.
Not in my country. We even have a special line destined towards helping people buy and install solar energy in their homes.
Also our electric grid is entirely shared between the entire country.