Several factors inhibit the development of smart grids. First, the start up costs for transforming current grids to smart ones can be very high, and the return on investment sufficiently long so that in a current model of corporate governance, and increasing privatization of utilities,  based on maximizing profits in  quarterly statement model, many companies are unwilling to invest the money in infrastructure. The Republican emphasis on lowering taxes and cutting government expenditure is also a major road block to government investment in infrastructure and green technology in the United States. Finally, in dense urban areas, in particular, work on electrical grids is logistically complex, slow, and expensive.