Rapid growth

Across the Valley

The utility across the valley is for sale. Buying it brings more customers, more equipment and more obligations than the purchase price alone suggests.

Play Across the Valley See what’s at stake

Free to play in your browser. Choose your difficulty in the game.

The situation

Your starting point

Begin in 2005 running Champlain Electric, a fictional utility around Burlington. You can connect with neighbors and acquire another company, turning a local operation into a larger regional utility.

The deal brings a whole company with it. Supply contracts, debt, customers and network upkeep all affect what expansion costs. Upkeep rises later in your term, while power-purchase limits become tighter from 2017.

The choices

What will you do?

  1. Read the company terms

    Compare the purchase price with inherited debt, equipment and supply contracts. A cheaper acquisition can leave the larger company with a harder job.

  2. Check what a connection can carry

    Plan around the power you can actually move between areas. More generation in the portfolio does not automatically mean enough deliverable electricity everywhere.

  3. Budget for the larger network

    Allow for upkeep and changing purchase limits over the full term. Expansion has to keep working after the acquisition is paid for.

Put your plan to the test

Find out whether a bigger company gives you a stronger grid, or simply more grid to look after.

Build, watch what happens, and try a different approach. The grid is yours to run.

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