But that is not enough to level the playing field. IOUs currently face competition from public and quasi-public entities with even greater advantages. The national government produces electricity through the Tennessee Valley Authority and five regional power marketing administrations, and provides municipalities and co-ops preferential access to that power. All of the federal enterprises should also be privatized. At the very least, Congress should begin selling individual dams and plants, ending new taxpayer subsidies, and charging market prices for federal power.
Deregulation also requires ending federal micromanagement of utilities.
The result is billions of wasted dollars. The regulatory act should be repealed. The development of a national transmission network, or grid, has helped make an electricity free market possible. This electricity superhighway is privately owned by the IOUs, but the federal government often recognizes their ownership only in the breach. In the long-term, however, leaving IOUs truly free would likely better protect consumers than continued regulation.