It takes a certain amount of resources to produce anything, including electricity. The whole scheme was never designed to benefit consumers, it was designed to benefit producers. Producers being senior management, not employees. There are a few things that government does a good job of. Governing utility companies is one of them.
Government regulation assures an orderly supply of electricity at a reasonable price.
And, it has been working. It prevents a hodgepodge of cut-throat companies from gouging the public and providing unreliable service. Rick Priory is working with the North Carolina legislature now, on deregulation rules. The rules will always favor those who make the rules. Something on the order of two dollars a month would probably be reasonable.