In California, the vanguard of electricity deregulation, consumers are facing bills double and triple those of the regulated era. As in the case of airlines, the idea was that electricity is just another commodity. Get government out of the way and the free market will figure out just the right price and the right generating capacity. But whoever thought up that idea is a dim bulb. There is a very long lead time in the construction of power plants.
Electricity is, of course, a necessity.
If scarcity suddenly materializes because private entrepreneurs cut construction costs, they still win by raising prices. Ironically, the one part of California that still has plenty of power at reasonable prices is Los Angeles, which has its own system and never bought into deregulation. Under the bad old regulated system, electric prices were set by public utility commissions. A power grid was maintained, with plenty of generating capacity to spare. Regulators made mistakes, but nothing like the calamity that Californians face this summer.