Yanis Varoufakis exposes Europe's energy scam
Why Hacker News recommends it
Cited in UK and European electricity price threads as an explanation of marginal pricing and market design.
What it is
Yanis Varoufakis argues that Europe's electricity price spikes stem from how the energy market was designed and privatised, plus corporate profiteering. He proposes ways out.
Recommended by 2 HN commenters across 2 different months, 2024 to 2026.
What Hacker News said
Recommends vfclists · 2024-09 · on “Wind Becomes Britain's Largest Electricity Source”
Yanis Varoufakis should enlighten you, ie if you can really understand what is going on. [LINK] TLDR version - [this video] This is why. Prices are set by what electricity retailers think the "market will bear". Unlike suppliers bidding in which the lowest price wins, our electricity prices are set by the highest bidders. It al
Recommends tmnvix · 2024-12 · on “Why are UK electricity bills so expensive?”
Important to remember the process of privitisation that occurred and the opportunities for profiteering that the new complexity allowed. Yanis Varoufakis discusses it at length here: [this video] He characterises the energy market as a scam. I tend to agree.
Cites morphle · 2026-04 · on “Has electricity decoupled from gas prices in Germany?”
This energy scam has been going on for more than 30 years in Europe and the UK. The former Economic minister and professer Yanis Varoufakis explains [1]. My Fiberhood cooperative has a solution: the Enernet smart grid where you pay $0.01 per kWh. We wire up one in three houses in a neighborhood with power routers. People buy and sell only solar electricity from panels in the neighborhood, from batteries and from every ev charging station on every parking spot in the neighborhood. Each participating house saves $2000 to $5000 per year for 30 years or more[2]. [1] [this video] [2] [LINK]