Utilities: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
Why Hacker News recommends it
HN commenters cite it as accessible background whenever stories touch on utility misconduct, PG&E, nuclear industry money, or the poor state of US grid infrastructure.
Recommended by 0 people across 0 different months, 2022 to 2026.
What it is
John Oliver's Last Week Tonight segment on US electric utilities, covering how much power these monopoly companies hold, how lightly they are regulated, and why customers rate them so poorly. It is a roughly 24-minute comedic investigative piece from HBO.
Cited in 1 Wikipedia article, including Reddy Kilowatt.
What people said
Cites anthropodie · 2022-05 · Hacker News · on “MI officials fast-track bridge fix after man says it 'collapsed under my feet'”
I am from India and just yesterday I saw episode of John Oliver related to state of Utilities in the US [1]. After that episode I was like thank God we don't have issues like this. The energy infrastructure in India is mostly owned by Government companies and yeah their are some issues but the grid works and it is maintained surprisingly well. [1]: [this video] Edit: I am getting down voted lol. Maybe our infrastructure is not producing as much Energy as US but I am mostly talking about Grid. I guess I should have cleared that.
Cites Krasnol · 2022-07 · Hacker News · on “US companies partner on nuclear recycling technology”
It depends on the country. In the US there is significant money: [this video] with the common side effects: [LINK] [LINK] In Germany (and many parts of Europe) the same companies which run gas and coal plants, run nuclear. And there are state interests like nuclear weapons, submarines, etc. So no, it is not just some nuclear enthusiasts or other romanticisms. It's just money. As everywhere else. In the case of nuclear energy it's also many times taxpayer money. A lot of it.
Cites thaumaturgy · 2026-08 · Hacker News · on “Wildfire Survivors Push Back Against Newsom-Led Utility Bailout”
PG&E diverted safety money for profit, bonuses: [LINK] After choosing profits over maintenance, California utility giant forces blackouts on customers: [LINK] PG&E Spent Billions on Lobbyists and PR Instead of Upgrades: [LINK] John Oliver on utilities, including PG&E: [this video] Can we stop just automatically assuming that the poor, beleaguered companies would definitely be acting in the public's interest all on their own if only it weren't for the big bad regulators? It really seems like, in 2026, there should be ample evidence to the contrary by now.