His point is to have urban level utilities would incur that kind of a premium, ergo if you didn't pay that premium don't expect urban utility service.
But GP's first sentence was mainly what I was trying to address:
> I am all for utility companies cutting service to rural areas, for cost savings or otherwise.
If my electric and gas providers suddenly decided that I was too expensive to serve and cut me off, I'd be out in the range of $20-30k to install batteries, a generator (since solar might not be adequate in the middle of winter), and to convert my heating from natural gas to propane.