Market Structure and Price Determination

The question of exporting electricity will not arise unless the nation can generate more than it needs itself; and it will not generate what it needs for itself until it has built the infrastructure; not only power stations but also distribution networks like power lines, not merely on a local but on a national scale.

Governments can raise funds through taxation; private businessmen must raise investment capital from banks. Financiers must be convinced that, not only will they make a profit, but enough of a profit over a short enough time scale that the investment is worthwhile; otherwise they would rather invest in something better.

The initial capital costs to create a national power infrastructure are very large. Even on a local scale they are large. That is a lot of money tied up for so long a time.

A private company might build a local power plant and sell electricity to local residents; but there is much expense and little profit in building many miles of line and other infrastructure necessary to connect many towns and cities, all of which must be continuously maintained. The land rights are owned by different private and public entities, also. All of this must be organized and made to fit together, and that is a lot to expect of a multitude of individual private business competitors with different ideas of profit and of how to do things.

A government can raise large sums of money in a short time and spread the cost out among the whole population so that the cost per person is less. They are less concerned with profit, and more with nation building. The government can also use its powers to negotiate land rights-of-way, and use economies of scale to negotiate lower prices for bulk purchases, as well as making private contractors compete so as to gain better pricing. (Corruption can make government very expensive though.)

As for exporting electricity, that requires cooperation between nations insofar as borders must be considered, tariffs may need to be eliminated, and different types of electrical grids may need to be interfaced and coordinated.