OE


Deconstruct the Argument: This is a really technical argument. Wherever needed, don't hesitate to summarize at a higher / less-detailed level.
(First boldface) In multiple countries, electric utilities went from public to private and that resulted in problems (supply disruptions and higher prices). But, the author claims, it's still valid to say that (second boldface) private companies are generally more efficient than government-owned companies. Certain weirdnesses of electricity (examples given...don't get caught up in the hard detail) are "unique obstacles" for competition. That is, the electricity market has certain unusual characteristics that make this particular market not behave like most markets. But for most markets, that second boldface is still usually true.

Pause and State the Goal: On Describe the Role questions, your goal is to understand what role each boldface statement plays in the broader argument. It's usually best to find the author's conclusion and then articulate how the boldface statements relate to that conclusion. This author concludes that a certain weird phenomenon (described in the first boldface) in the electricity market shouldn't negate the fact that a certain economic principle (described in the second boldface) is still generally true.

Work from Wrong to Right:
(A) The first boldface is a fact, not a claim, and the author does not claim that the first boldface is false; rather, the author claims that the first boldface should not be used as evidence that a certain economic principle is faulty. The second boldface does contrast with the first one but is not used by the author to reject the first boldface.
(B) CORRECT. The first boldface does appear to be an exception to a general economic principle, or theory, that the author believes is valid. The second boldface is a description of that economic principle or theory.
(C) The first boldface is an example of an unusual phenomenon. The author does not critique conventional economics; rather the author believes that the conventional economic principle is true. The second boldface is correctly described; it is a summary of a certain commonly-held economic principle.
(D) The first boldface is correctly described: The author does believe the first boldface to be unusual. However, the second boldface does not describe how the unusual thing happened; rather, the second boldface is a contrasting trend that the author believes to be true in general, despite the fact that it doesn't go along with what happened in the first boldface.
(E) The first boldface is an example of something unusual; it is not an example of a broader trend. The second boldface is an example of a trend, but it is not a trend that is supported by the first boldface.

The correct answer is (B).