These companies will just operate the distribution system, the wires and the pipes.
Competitors then enter the market with different pricing and service offerings.
With the onset of deregulation in all of these industries, it is possible for consumers to realize significant savings by shopping around for these commodities. Click here for a price chart. While deregulation is supposed to bring a more competitive energy marketplace, many consumers are confused about the impact on them. Utility deregulation is complicated since there is a fixed and very expensive distribution system already in place - pipelines, power and phone lines. It's just too expensive, disruptive and environmentally harmful to construct parallel distribution systems.