Monopolies
1—Allegheny Power electrical company with no competition here in the area. There are
other companies that could provide service to us. Shenandoah Electric and Virginia Power
are two companies that could create competition to lower rates for customers. This
monopoly has been allowed for many years and it’s really not fair for everyone in this area.
The substitutes are very comparable to what we have now and right now we cannot stop
the constant rise in rates for electric service.
2. Frontier communications—telephone and internet service provider. They have the
monopoly in this are because they have no other competition. Hardy Net, Verizon, AT&T
would all be comparable substitutes with better coverage and better service. The public
service commission controls who provides service in this area and I believe it should not
be allowed because the internet service in this area is very poor because nothing can be
done to allow a competitor in this area to provide better service to its customers.
3. WV has a monopoly on Alcoholic Beverages in this state. They control all of the
wholesaling of alcohol which means no one can buy the alcohol they sell from anyone
other than WV. The WV Alcohol Beverage Control Administration is the only place in WV
that alcohol can warehouse and sell to the retail stores. The comparable substitutes would
be to allow retail stores to purchase their alcohol directly from the manufacturer or from
wholesale distribution centers to save money. WV sets their price on the alcohol and there
is nothing any of the retailers can do to save money and profit more off the sale of alcohol.
