Appliance Disservice
Gordon Canning's article, "Entering the Appliance Repair Business" (Feb. 1, 1995), contains several inaccuracies. First, Mr. Canning asserts that "the residential customer views the utility as a preferred provider." This is not a universal given. Residential customers only view a utility as a preferred provider of appliance service if the utility is allowed to engage in nonutility business activities and to subsidize these services below fair-market value.
Second, his statement that "although many contractors have petitioned regulators and legislators, alleging cross-subsidization and unfair competition, no case has forced the utility to withdraw from the business" is in error. In fact, the New Orleans City Council, a public utility commission, barred the investor-owned local utility (IOU) from engaging in these activities (CNOR-90-575).