Deregulation is about creating competition - something that moving to a state electricity monopoly will not accomplish. In the United Kingdom, deregulation spurred massive investments by private utilities that improved service and reliability and pushed down costs. Pennsylvania's electricity deregulation has seen prices fall by up to 30 percent and skyrocketing customer satisfaction. In California, city-owned utilities are the most deregulated. Exempt from the provisions of our flawed restructuring, they were not forced to sell their power plants or to give up long-term contracts, but they were able to make huge profits selling power to the rest of the state.
Deregulation is a disaster everywhere.
New York has seen 43 percent price increases and faces summer blackouts. Montana Republicans are considering a windfall profits tax against the power generators that have gouged their deregulated market. We can't afford to leave our electricity supply in the hands of greedy profiteers. Economists say that a reliable electricity system depends upon a 20 percent electricity surplus. But the for-profit energy companies gain most by keeping supplies tight.