Monopsony powers had been granted to the utilities almost by accident. This was what PURPA reversed: The utilities could still be monopolies, but they couldn’t be monopsonies anymore. The utilities now had to buy power from entities making small amounts of electricity in their territory; and they had to pay the same rate for this independently produced power as it would have cost them to make it themselves. This second clause notably used the market to force small power producers to be more cost effective than the utility. To make any money they had to make electricity for less than the
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