The business section of the Washington Post this past Sunday was totally devoted to the deregulation of electricity, particularly in our area, Maryland, Virginia and DC.

It made me wonder...does deregulation improve or worsen the utility industry's ability to become compliant?

(P.S. I'm also posting this in the EU forum, but would appreciate any informative comments here, as well)

-- I'm (with@titude.now), October 18, 1999

Answers

http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/pubs/spectrum/9906/pow.html

I may have answered my own question...please feel free to add.

-- I'm (with@titude.now), October 18, 1999.

The only effect it has is breaking up a monopoly. Deregulation is here in California, and it has proven nothing as far as I am concerned. PG&E was forced to auction off some of it's power plants to competitors. Duke Energy, Enron and others have successfully picked off some industries here, but is not successful in getting household and small business to sign on. I haven't heard a commercial in months from competitors of PG&E so I think they have given up. Modesto Irrigation District is putting in power poles right next to PG&E's power poles and is selling power to former PG&E customers. PG&E tried to fight it but lost. It's just a matter of time before the electrical industry is taken over by the government. As for cost, there's not that much of a difference from what I can see.

-- bardou (bardou@baloney.com), October 18, 1999.

Here's the URL to lots of EU stuff.

http://www.energyland.net/index.htm

It means a decoupling of Generating, Distribution and Customer Service. NERCs own numbers shows that Major Utilities have NOT been building Power Plants, knowing that eventual deregulation would ruin their ROI for plants. NERC predicts that by 2004 (without Y2K) that the US will only produce electricity for about 80% of the necessary demand (this is buried in the above site, somewhere, just a big number that stuck when I read it, probably about a year ago). The above site has a section on Y2K and another on Deregulation....

-- BH (silentvoice@pobox.com), October 18, 1999.

we have deregulation in Pa. we are now able to compare rates and pick our electic supplier. we still have the same provider(as it is there cables lines to our home) It has worked out well for us so far. another issue in our state is deregulating local phone service, that is a big issue. lots of small companies monopolize areas and no one else can provide service, so you can not chose your local phone company it's one or none! believe me it has been no picnic with old equipment and the companies refussal to upgrade lines for simple things as fax machines or faster internet service. So I am in favor of deregulation, because I see what monopolies do. It's a take it or leave it attitude with these businesses, if they had competition and people could take there business elsewhere we would see how fast they would upgrade their equipment.. But now it's an old story as I am always told by my phone company: "we do not make enough money in your area to upgrade equipment" or" we did a study and not enough people in the area demanded any change" I live in a small town, clustered with many other small towns, many elderly reside here, they do not know what is available to them because they are kept in the dark. And they are not the ones to make a issue of new technology.. With more younger families moving in they know what is avaailable and it is those of us that make the issues for change..

-- cassandra (american_storm@usa.net), October 18, 1999.

In preparing for Y2K it was really nice to be empowered and have movement choosing the phone companies in my own strategy of hopefully maintaining comfort levels. I have Pacbell for my normal phone, back up ISP, and also for long distance. (I just love Pacific Bell.) Then I have AT&T for cell phone service. I feel very covered should one or the other have problems.

-- Paula (chowbabe@pacbell.net), October 18, 1999.

* * * 19991018 Monday

@ttitude:

Hmmm... I know! We'll have (de facto) _deregulated_ Y2K blackouts and brownouts!

Thanks, USA corporate-statists! Y2K justice will be bittersweet!

Regards, Bob Mangus

* * *

-- Robert Mangus (rmangus@hotmail.com), October 18, 1999.

ONE effect that will occur from deregulation of electricity is longer times to get power turned back on (in some places)

Example: My town is considering switching electric suppliers. (from ComEd)

If the town decides to go with another supplier, other than ComEd, they might get cheaper rates, but I believe the level of service will still go down.

Why?

ComEd still controls the transmission and distribution system in the Midwest. Doesn't matter if you buy cheaper electricity from Texas, it still comes in over ComEd's ailing and failing network.

So if a feeder line goes down and you call your Electic Co, (now in Texas), they in turn call ComEd about the problem and of course ComEd can say "Are you sure it's not on your end?"

meanwhile you can sit in the dark for twice as long or longer while the 2 companies play games about whose fault it is.

I am so glad we have a NG generator...

-- plonk! (realaddress@hotmail.com), October 18, 1999.