Energy historian Richard Hirsh takes it one step further, arguing that for decades the utilities had been attracting the bottom of the graduating classes from engineering schools: the students who didn’t want an exciting career in “the glamor industries—electronics, aerospace or computers” or who weren’t quite agile enough to land a more interesting job. It was a stagnant sector that promised no adventure and a steady paycheck. As a result, the most risk averse and least facile minds were running the game.
