I'd guess electricity is only 1 of ~20 things I need civilization for.

This still relies on bureaucratic changes - in many jurisdictions, connecting to the grid is mandatory.

That's the current situation in Australia, for example: https://reneweconomy.com.au/the-40-australian-towns-that-cou...

In the US these restrictions are usually tied to nearby cities. The larger but sparsely populated unincorporated areas don't require (or have) utilities.

> (not that socially they would do that)

Factor in that once VR headsets hit MVP status, you won’t need to commute for basic “we need you to be in a room with these people to talk to them” tasks, it becomes even more plausible.

What happens to the property market if “you don’t need to commute to be in meetings” comes true?

What makes you think that VR will deliver on the remote work dream where videoconferencing failed? I don’t think the 2D nature of videoconferencing is the problem here.

How do you think energy determines this at the moment? The grid is, to a first approximation, the same price everywhere people live.