2. What is Energy
Deregulation?
It used to be that people
didn’t have the freedom to
choose where they bought
their power from. Every state
had basically one source of
electricity or gas and you
had to buy from them,
regardless of price.
Now however, some
states have started to
deregulate power. This
means that you have
the freedom to choose
another utilities
company to buy power
from.
3. What Makes
Deregulated Power So
Controversial?
For years utilities like gas
and electricity have been
controlled by the
government. This ensured
that health and safety
measures were properly
monitored, but it also
unfortunately created a
monopoly of power that
made it possible for prices to
rise without anything to
check or lower them.
Deregulated power
creates independent
companies that
provide competition,
and it’s the first time
that energy has
been deregulated.
4. Deregulation Doesn’t Mean
Using Different Power
Just because power
is deregulated it
doesn’t mean that
there are independent
companies popping
up all over with
access to different
power sources. All
the power generally
comes from the same
places.
What deregulated means is that
these new independent utility
companies offer different pricing
options and policies, some of
which are oftentimes a better fit
for you depending on your
circumstances or location.
5. What Does Deregulation Mean
For You?
This is how it all
works. You have the
companies that
provide energy or
natural gas, which
they in turn sell to all
the available retail
suppliers like the
traditional
government suppliers
and the new
independent
suppliers in
deregulated states.
These suppliers sell their
utilities through your familiar
local utilities provider who
then sends the power
directly into your home or
business.
6. The Benefits of Deregulated
Energy
Consumers now
have a choice about
what company
provides electricity
and gas for their
homes and
businesses.
This ultimately lowers the cost of
utilities and products because
suppliers are now competing with
each other.
7. The Future of Deregulated Energy
As of now, not all
states allow
deregulated energy,
and it might take
years until the entire
United States
passes the
necessary laws
making deregulated
power legal.
So far only 13 states give people the choice to
find an alternate gas or electric utilities company
to obtain power from and 18 states have yet to
even make deregulated power legal.
8. How Do you Get Your Utilities?
As a consumer, you might
not even notice the
difference at first. The utility
company in your area is
still responsible for the
distribution of the power to
your home regardless of
the supplier you choose.
However, the supply price isn’t set by that same utility provider
anymore. Depending on where you live, you may still continue
to be billed by your utility provider, but you will see a mention of
your new supplier. Or, in some cases you will be billed directly
by your supplier.
9. How Will Deregulated Power Affect
the Economy?
Deregulation opens up a whole new
job market and a way to make
money. It’s also lowering utility costs
somewhat and creating healthy
competition and new jobs.
However,
deregulation of
energy is still so
new that we don’t
really know the full
effect it will have
on the long-term
utility distribution
system in the
United States.
10. Coming Soon to a State Near You?
If you’re unsure about the
deregulation laws in your
state, look it up today and
find out if there are
alternative energy options
available for you.