Electricity "deregulation" inches forward, new report reveals

A new report from Distributed Energy Financial Group (DEFG) says commercial and industrial electricity customer choice is doing very well in many U.S. states and Canadian provinces because competitive, well-structured electric markets encourage the introduction of new products and services unavailable in more traditional electric markets. For those customers, some examples include locking in energy prices for a year or more, indexed energy prices, green or sustainable products, the development of on-site power generation and energy efficiency services. The report says residential electricity customers also benefit in a number of areas as new smart grid technologies are deployed, such as advanced metering, communications and control devices and in-home energy use displays. The outcome is more choices for residential consumers, more information and better ways to manage their energy bills. "Well-structured, competitive electricity markets are critical to meeting our country's future electric power needs," said Nat Treadway, DEFG manager partner and the report's lead author. The report, the Annual Baseline Assessment of Choice in Canada and the United States (ABACCUS), identifies Texas and New York as leading states  with several retail power suppliers and many service choices for all types of customers. Alberta, Canada, also is identified as a leader for its policies supporting choice for residential electric customers. Other jurisdictions also are recognized for  similar achievements.

Jesse Berst's Take: Call it what you want — liberalization, deregulation, retail competition — but more and more North Americans have access to new ways to buy electricity, as this new report confirms. In some cases, retail competition forces grid modernization. In other cases, modernization makes it easier for regulators to say yes to retail. Regardless of which comes first, it boils down to a change as profound as the one that transformed telecommunications 20 years ago. But this time, it is gradually hopscotching from place to place rather than occurring nationwide. 

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