Скачать или смотреть How One Excavator Turned a Power Company Into a Liability — Big Muskie

Big Muskie was built to secure the future of a power company.
Instead, it locked that company into a risk it couldn’t escape.
Designed during an era of cheap electricity and guaranteed coal demand, Big Muskie made sense only as long as every assumption held. When energy markets shifted, regulations tightened, and operating costs exploded, the machine stopped being an asset and became a financial anchor. The company behind it didn’t just own an excavator — it owned a liability that demanded power, maintenance, land, and capital regardless of profitability.
This film breaks down how a single machine flipped the balance sheet:
why Big Muskie required constant, massive electrical input
how operating costs erased the margin it was meant to protect
how long-term infrastructure commitments trapped the company
why shutting it down was nearly as expensive as running it
and how one machine changed how utilities evaluated risk forever
Big Muskie didn’t fail mechanically.
It failed economically.
And in doing so, it became a lesson in how industrial ambition can turn strength into exposure — and how one excavator can transform a power company from a producer into a liability.