Competition is a jolt to the industry and investors.
The once safe stock havens now have risk, but share prices are rising. Once, making money on utilities was as easy as turning on a light switch. Investors locked the share certificates away in their safe deposit boxes and waited for the quarterly dividend check. Now that electric utilities are losing their monopolies, however, they will have to stand or fall on their own. Many will find the competitive market far less forgiving than the state regulators who set their rates in the past.