So a desirable environmental statute has stimulated demand for West Virginia coal, thereby increasing coal production which destroys more mountains and streams and generates more high-stack emissions which pollute the air. Deregulation of electricty production, transmission, and sale . Unregulated electricty markets in the 1880s left a bad taste in the mouths of American consumers. War raged between munis and private utilities. Prices came down.
Deregulation is a misnomer .
Regulation remains but in a different form. Ergo, the 1996 California deregulation bill was as thick as a Los Angeles phone book. Because truly unregulated markets bring surprises, e.g. prices go up or down, political considerations come into play. Stability and predictability, desired by consumers, are incompatible with pure deregulation. With pure deregulation, such as with airlines and trucks, dramatic changes occur.