About De-Regulation
Deregulation creates choice. Customers in the electric and natural gas markets now have
the ability to choose the supplier for their business. Prior to deregulation you only had
one choice and no competition. The monopoly on energy made for poor service and high cost.
Following deregulation of the airline and telephone industries, the focus moved to
natural gas and electric utilities. Consumers are now able to choose who supplies
their natural gas and/or electricity. The utility delivers the energy regardless of
who supplies the natural gas or electricity through their distribution system. Additionally,
the utility is still responsible for maintenance of the distribution system, billing,
meter reading and responding to outages.
Since deregulation came to the energy industry over 10 years ago, almost half of the
states have passed major legislation and regulations to restructure their
electric power, natural gas, or both.
Benefits of deregulation:
- Choice: pricing, service, contracts
- Elimination of monopolies creating a level playing field
- Better service
- Better pricing
- More jobs and opportunities
- Alternative and renewable energy resources more available
