Competition in Electric Markets Offers Benefits, but Smart Implementation is Key

Competition in Electric Power—What Does the Record Say? About 25 years ago the electric power industry was deep into debates over competition and monopoly. For most of the last century, nearly everyone agreed that monopoly was not only natural but even desirable in electric power as long as regulators ensured that the benefits of monopoly were shared with consumers. Toward the end of the century, the conventional view was under challenge—rates were rising, the industry had seen a few major blackouts and technological growth stalled. Dissatisfaction with the regulated electric power industry was intensified by the apparent success of deregulatory… [more]