One of the basic tenets of economics is that competitive markets require full information. Disclosures facilitate informed customer choice. Information is especially critical in new competitive markets such as that for electricity. Consumers have never had the opportunity to shop for electric service before and the ordinary household will not have access to a market analyst, economist, accountant and lawyer to advise them on their purchases as a large industrial customers will. Consumers make choices based on a whole host of criteria, price being one, and often the most important, as the recent focus group results have shown.
Consumers also consider safety, reliability, environmental impact, aesthetics, and social issues.
What we mean by price is obvious. In a general sense contract terms include financing, cancellation, recourse for poor service, late payment fees, and a clear understanding of the service package. In electric these also include other concerns such as understanding rate variability, service and distribution charges, length of contract, disconnection, etc. However, what value are efficiencies gained at the expense of low-income customers or customers with inelastic usage patterns to whom costs have been shifted. Standard disclosures would aid consumers in determining whether RTP suits their own situation.