Recently my research centre set up a new office in Melbourne, Victoria (a southern Australian state). We do a lot of work in Melbourne and so it was a cost-saving measure to establish a permanent capacity there. It coincides with some other big changes that I will make public on Monday next. The experience has generally been favourable – we have installed very reliable IT systems and have off-street parking, which is somewhat redundant given our proximity to the CBD and the University of Melbourne, where I am involved in some large projects. But try getting power connected – and when it finally is connected – try keeping that connection. Welcome to the world of privatised power. Read on to learn about how efficient it all is. And as you read reflect on the fact that the neo-liberals sold this farce on the back of arguments that the nation couldn’t afford state-owned power supplies and that the new privatised world would be like a journey to Shangri La! It just hasn’t turned out that way.