<p>Sure - see page 5 of the rulebook, in the "Earning Cash" paragraph of the Phase 5: Bureaucracy  section:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Earning cash: Starting with the first player, every player indicates
  how many cities in his network he wishes (and is able) to supply with
  electricity. He earns cash based on  the number of cities he powers as
  shown on the payment table. A player who does not supply any city gets
  10 Elektro (the guaranteed minimum). The players remove the  required
  resources from the power plants that produced electricity this round
  and place the used resources in the resource supply next to the board.
  A player may choose  (or only be able) to supply fewer cities than he
  has in his network. The player is paid only for the supplied cities.
  If a player produces more electricity than he has cities in his 
  network, the surplus is wasted. Every player can choose how many and
  which of his power plants he uses, e.g. he does not have to supply all
  of his cities.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>So you can very much power 6 cities with enough electricity for 10.  You just won't be able to store the extra electricity produced for future use (or save yourself any of the resources that it cost you to produce so much electricity).</p>

<p>See also the line "a player may choose to supply fewer cities than he has in his network. The player is paid only for the supplied cities."  It seems pretty clear to me that you can undersupply your cities if you want, strange though such a course of action might seem!</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-11-19T13:14:39.997Z
In fact, this is the case when you have surplus power. OP has enough power to all his cities, has all the needed cities, but only want to power some of them.
gbianchi
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-11-19T13:30:04.403Z
Yes, I knew about this, but as [gbianchi](http://boardgames.stackexchange.com/users/1712/gbianchi) already said, my case is a little different. I'm not `producing more electricity than I have cities in my network` - I'm producing exactly the same amount. However, I voluntarily want to waste some of it, even though there is no surplus generated.
beam022
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-11-19T14:27:04.370Z
@gbianchi Whoops, sorry, don't know how I failed to read the question quite so badly there!  I've edited my answer accordingly, as I feel that the same rules para is quite clear that you can undersupply your cities, just as much as it's clear that you can oversupply electricity.
thesunneversets
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-11-20T02:34:38.557Z
Two things are clear: the rules don't explicitly mention the possibility in question; the possibility in question *is tantamount to returning money to the bank* - in this case, 32 electro. **WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS?!?!?**
The Chaz 2.0
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-11-20T20:31:39.520Z
To say it differently, you could simply accept the full amount of electro from the bank, then donate a portion of it to charity.  Around my gaming group, charity starts en mi casa.
KFro
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-11-19T11:03:57.083Z
2012-11-19T14:24:36.217Z
2012-11-19T14:24:36.217Z
thesunneversets
<p>While the answer is certainly <strong>yes</strong>, it is important to note that player order is determined by <strong>the number of cities in the player's network, not the number that were powered</strong>. This misconception is the best reason I can imagine a player would want to do this.</p>

<p>It is also possible to <strong>fuel plants that cannot supply any city.</strong> Although still rare, you might want to do this if you were able to go before a particular opponent in the next round and cause a scarcity of a critical resource.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-11-20T14:02:05.890Z
The behavior in the second paragraph still seems illogical. Couldn't you just hold onto the resources? Spending them will put them back in the pool for possible resupply...
The Chaz 2.0
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-11-20T14:19:26.410Z
Consider the case where there's enough to resupply anyway (presumably there's at least some because your opponent is using it this round, and possibly other opponents too). Burning it from your plants allows you to drain the resource from the market rather than just keeping it out of the supply.
sitnaltax
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-11-20T16:49:57.787Z
Oooh. I see. You can hold double, and effectively **keep double** out of the market by burning some and storing some.
The Chaz 2.0
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-11-21T08:01:28.183Z
I agree particularly with your first point; that's the only reason I can imagine someone wanting to do this, and it would have no effect on gameplay except earning fewer Elektros. No effect on turn order.
Matthew Frederick
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-11-20T13:46:24.987Z
2012-11-20T13:46:24.987Z
sitnaltax
<p>Let's assume that I've got 10 cities connected in my network. I want to supply electricity to 6 of them and I've two power plants, each of them capable of supplying up to 5 cities. I've bought enough resources to use both power plants. Can I decide to use them to supply only 6 cities with electricity?</p>

<p>In this case, that would mean one plant would be using only 1/5 of its potential when it's perfectly possible to supply more cities with it - all 5 in this case. Is this allowed?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-11-19T13:13:45.507Z
This questions sounds good, I will want to know the reasoning behind doing this!
gbianchi
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-11-19T16:09:07.170Z
Yes, why do you want to do this? The only effect it has is you ending up with less money.
Cascabel
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-11-19T16:52:21.997Z
Why would you want to?  The only effect would be to give you less money, and more money is never a disadvantage in Power Grid.
Chris Dodd
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-02-08T03:08:41.670Z
@gbianchi and the rest, it is sound to do it to conserve resources. If powering up #20 gives only $10 more, but you are going last in turn order in the next round, you might want to keep your resources so as to have a shot at winning the game, should a savvy player corner the coal in. Furthermore, in early-mid game, there are points where firing a power plant loses you money. If firing a plant gives you $7, but you have to pay $10 for the resources, then you've just lost $3.
Adama
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-02-08T04:23:26.223Z
@adama read the question again. OP want to losse resource on porpuose. I read it again, and is allowed by rules. I think we never determinated exactly in any case that will come handly. Probably a border case with resources problems . OP will not conserve anything, is firing 2 plants and not collecting all elektro from them
gbianchi
<power-grid>
Can I decide not to use all the power of a plant in Power Grid?
beam022
# Can I decide not to use all the power of a plant in Power Grid?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2012-11-19)

Let's assume that I've got 10 cities connected in my network. I want to supply electricity to 6 of them and I've two power plants, each of them capable of supplying up to 5 cities. I've bought enough resources to use both power plants. Can I decide to use them to supply only 6 cities with electricity?

In this case, that would mean one plant would be using only 1/5 of its potential when it's perfectly possible to supply more cities with it - all 5 in this case. Is this allowed?

**Tags:** power-grid

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: This questions sounds good, I will want to know the reasoning behind doing this!  
> **username_2**: Yes, why do you want to do this? The only effect it has is you ending up with less money.  
> **username_3**: Why would you want to?  The only effect would be to give you less money, and more money is never a disadvantage in Power Grid.  
> **username_4**: @username_1 and the rest, it is sound to do it to conserve resources. If powering up #20 gives only $10 more, but you are going last in turn order in the next round, you might want to keep your resources so as to have a shot at winning the game, should a savvy player corner the coal in. Furthermore, in early-mid game, there are points where firing a power plant loses you money. If firing a plant gives you $7, but you have to pay $10 for the resources, then you've just lost $3.  
> **username_1**: @adama read the question again. OP want to losse resource on porpuose. I read it again, and is allowed by rules. I think we never determinated exactly in any case that will come handly. Probably a border case with resources problems . OP will not conserve anything, is firing 2 plants and not collecting all elektro from them  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_5 on 2012-11-19. Score: 8

Sure - see page 5 of the rulebook, in the "Earning Cash" paragraph of the Phase 5: Bureaucracy section:

> Earning cash: Starting with the first player, every player indicates
> how many cities in his network he wishes (and is able) to supply with
> electricity. He earns cash based on the number of cities he powers as
> shown on the payment table. A player who does not supply any city gets
> 10 Elektro (the guaranteed minimum). The players remove the required
> resources from the power plants that produced electricity this round
> and place the used resources in the resource supply next to the board.
> A player may choose (or only be able) to supply fewer cities than he
> has in his network. The player is paid only for the supplied cities.
> If a player produces more electricity than he has cities in his
> network, the surplus is wasted. Every player can choose how many and
> which of his power plants he uses, e.g. he does not have to supply all
> of his cities.

So you can very much power 6 cities with enough electricity for 10. You just won't be able to store the extra electricity produced for future use (or save yourself any of the resources that it cost you to produce so much electricity).

See also the line "a player may choose to supply fewer cities than he has in his network. The player is paid only for the supplied cities." It seems pretty clear to me that you can undersupply your cities if you want, strange though such a course of action might seem!

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: In fact, this is the case when you have surplus power. OP has enough power to all his cities, has all the needed cities, but only want to power some of them.  
> **username_0**: Yes, I knew about this, but as [username_1](http://boardgames.stackexchange.com/users/1712/username_1) already said, my case is a little different. I'm not `producing more electricity than I have cities in my network` - I'm producing exactly the same amount. However, I voluntarily want to waste some of it, even though there is no surplus generated.  
> **username_5**: @username_1 Whoops, sorry, don't know how I failed to read the question quite so badly there!  I've edited my answer accordingly, as I feel that the same rules para is quite clear that you can undersupply your cities, just as much as it's clear that you can oversupply electricity.  
> **username_6**: Two things are clear: the rules don't explicitly mention the possibility in question; the possibility in question *is tantamount to returning money to the bank* - in this case, 32 electro. **WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS?!?!?**  
> **username_7**: To say it differently, you could simply accept the full amount of electro from the bank, then donate a portion of it to charity.  Around my gaming group, charity starts en mi casa.  

---

### Answer by username_8 on 2012-11-20. Score: 4

While the answer is certainly **yes**, it is important to note that player order is determined by **the number of cities in the player's network, not the number that were powered**. This misconception is the best reason I can imagine a player would want to do this.

It is also possible to **fuel plants that cannot supply any city.** Although still rare, you might want to do this if you were able to go before a particular opponent in the next round and cause a scarcity of a critical resource.

> **Comments:**
> **username_6**: The behavior in the second paragraph still seems illogical. Couldn't you just hold onto the resources? Spending them will put them back in the pool for possible resupply...  
> **username_8**: Consider the case where there's enough to resupply anyway (presumably there's at least some because your opponent is using it this round, and possibly other opponents too). Burning it from your plants allows you to drain the resource from the market rather than just keeping it out of the supply.  
> **username_6**: Oooh. I see. You can hold double, and effectively **keep double** out of the market by burning some and storing some.  
> **username_9**: I agree particularly with your first point; that's the only reason I can imagine someone wanting to do this, and it would have no effect on gameplay except earning fewer Elektros. No effect on turn order.  

---

