California To Guide The Nation In Deregulation

By Jeremiah Bradshaw

Energy customer from all over the U.S. can exercise their freedom of choice in regard to the energy provider. It has taken several years in the making but it is finally here. The old way of doing things had the government negotiate on behalf of all of the people, a standard and consistent energy rate, but now Californians can seek out the lowest price for themselves.

The idea that bureaucrats could negotiate a better deal than the average consumer, and that the utility companies were going to grant a fair price just because the government said so, is ludicrous.

There were many good effects of regulation. With energy wholesalers accepting a baseline price, the energy prices were stable which allowed many people to budget accordingly, but this price was not necessarily the best price. If handing a large corporation millions of customers can ever be a good thing, then regulation was a good thing, but it so rarely is.

Regulation essentially granted the energy conglomerations huge amounts of customers they otherwise would never have gotten due to market limitations. Given that a broad assortment of providers is always in the best interest of customers, regulations sold them short.

When the government allows high dollar energy corporations to determine what is an acceptable price for the consumer, the only winner is the utility company. With regulation out of the way, energy providers are forced to start wheeling and dealing to find new energy sources and actually deal with customers in the free market way of reducing their prices to be competitive.

With the customers holding all the cards, the energy market will benefit and innovation will bring greater developments to the industry. Without the vital energy innovation brings to the energy industry, there would be no reason to bring about the desperately needed changes in our energy grid. - 31375

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