Utility companies are cutting costs, holding down rates, and conducting extensive market research in an effort to position themselves for success in a competitive future. And they are beefing up service in the hopes that customers will remember them fondly when competitors arrive on the scene. IBM captured the spirit of the times nicely in a recent ad for one of its customer service systems. Initially, however, customer service will probably not be the deciding factor. And when it comes to commodities, price inevitably becomes a primary selling point.
Regulated utilities sell each kilowatt-hour at the same price.
In a deregulated environment, some kilowatt-hours will come cheaper than others. ComEd is also experimenting with systems that would send signals to automatically cut back central air and heating systems in homes during especially high-usage periods. In fact, ever-slower Internet services might take a page from the play books of some of the utilities. Managing consumption and delivery during peak times reduces the cost and increases the reliability of electricity generation. One of the future competitors of existing utilities is Houston-based Enron Corporation.